


Some Day We Could Be Happy....

by Red_Dead



Series: No Strings Attached [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, M/M, Military AU, No Strings Attached, klance, lowaharts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-23
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-01 14:39:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8628349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Dead/pseuds/Red_Dead
Summary: Once again, a waring. All Characters are over the age needed.  Keith and Lance have been sleeping with each other for some time now and Lance wants to 'switch things up'.Just too bad missions get in the way of things.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lowahearts](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Lowahearts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please look at 
> 
> http://lowaharts.tumblr.com
> 
> Thank her!

Once again, a page before reading to the next story.

There is things in here, most will not like. So once again, if you have been reading this before, you should know the warnings from the last two stories.

Have fun, comments are loved.


	2. Please Stay

Keith pushed himself off the bed, looking down at Lance who had his back turned towards him. Keith looked away from him and towards the ground. He reached for the discarded clothes on the ground, his mind still running wild.

Lance turned, leaning his face on his knuckles, elbow resting on his soft bed. A lofty smile on his face.

“Leaving already?” Lance watched Keith’s back, who’s back was sliced with Lance’s nails markings. Keith turned to look at Lance, who was more awake then Lance was at that moment.

“I have to take Shiro to physical therapy. Allura is busy and He can’t drive legally yet…” Keith pulled his pants on, tightening his belt buckle around his waist. “Why, were you planning round two or something?”

Lance got up, keeping himself covered in his sheets. A sly, playful smile on his face.

“Well, I was kinda hoping to switch things up…” Lance watched as Keith was registering his words, trying to figure things out.

“What do you mean?” Keith was confused. How could they “switch things up”? Lance could see it on his face, the question was a hard one to figure out. It brought Lance into a laughing fit that caused Keith to roll his eyes. “Nice to know I’m some butt of a joke…”

Lance fell onto the bed, this time lost to laughter at Keith’s last words. Keith sighed, glancing around the room for his shirt so he could get out of there.

“You are not that clueless are you? I want to fuck you.” Lance whipped away the tears, watching as Keith turned at Lance’s words. For Lance, watching the white skinned Asian turn to the deepest shade of red he had ever seen, was something new. His whole upper chest, face and ears, beet red. Lance leaned on his elbows, a small frown on his face. “Wait, don’t tell me you never…”

Lance was worried for a moment, watching as Keith’s silence was present in the room. Keith ignored Lance, grabbing a shirt he found and throwing it on. It wasn’t his, but Lance’s, but for now it would do. 

“Can we talk about his later, I have to…” Keith turned towards Lance as the dark skinned man started giggling again. “It’s way too early for this Lance…”

“Don’t tell me I took your virginity?” Lance bit his lip, there was a playful tone in his voice, but a stray pillow knocked into his face and Keith made his way out of the room.

“No, you did not...We can talk about his later. I am out!” Keith quickly left the bedroom, grabbing his socks and shoes he lost in the living room, grabbing his jacket he left on the couch and quickly exited the front door. 

Lance peeked his head out of the room, letting out a sigh. So much for any funtime for awhile. He looked at his clock above the TV, seeing it’s red numbers read 9:35. He started to go though his mental check.

“Pidge isn’t up...can’t bother her...Hunk is working with Allura today...Coran’s at headquarters…” Lance walked over to the couch, dragging his blanket with him. He popped down, bouncing a bit before thinking what to do.

*Ping*

Lance blinked. It wasn’t his normal cell phone that went off. What plans he did have, were now changed the moment the unused cell left a chilling noise. Lance got up, walking over to an old, outdated flip Nokia. He picked it up and looked at it, slight interest in his view. 

*Do you want a Job?*

Lance was at a loss. As far as he knew, only two people knew this number and they were both dead. Lance looked around, not sure if he was being watched or not. He made a mental note to inspect his house again. Once he was done looking, he looked back at the phone. He clicked on the buttons, writing out one word.

*Yes*

Lance waited for a reply.

*Ping*

Lance viewed the message, clicking away.

*Find Mission Location At Idy At’s.*

Lance closed the Nokia with a satisfying clap. He placed the cell back in its spot and walked his way over to his room. He needed to get clean, dressed and ready. 

Lance was not sure if he should trust the message or not, but his curiosity was getting the best of him. That and he wanted a job, he just hoped it didn’t end up killing him.

**** 

Shiro watched as Keith closed the car door behind him, a somewhat tired expression on his face as he looked around the familiar PT parking lot he had grown used to seeing in the last 2 months.

“I’m sorry to keep calling on you Keith, I’m sure you have better things to do then chauffeur me around all the time....” A slight knock on Shiro’s undamaged arm made Shiro smile wide. Keith was not having it today, like he wasn’t having it month’s ago when Keith first started taking him when Allura could not. “Ouch, okay ya big meanie…”

Keith knew it was playful, so he just rolled his eyes and carried on to the double doors of the building.

“I wasn’t really doing anything this week anyways...besides still shopping around for new clothes, furniture, still haven’t found a TV I like yet…” Keith was thinking about his new apartment. It was a massive upgrade from his old one. Two bed room, a nice kitchen, a large ass spa/bath combo, an office room, living room and laundry. “ I’ve only got my bedroom finished up and the kitchen decked out...You can come over for dinner sometime.”

Shiro smiled, liking that idea. He hummed, looking around the hallway with pictures of nature and animals. 

“Sounds like a good idea to me. I want french dip sandwiches and when I get out of this place, let's get you a new shirt. The one you have on now is too big for you…” Shiro smiled when he saw the cute nurse lady at the counter, who was making goo goo eyes towards. Keith on the other hand, having no idea this was going on at all as he was a blushing, much to Shiro’s enjoyment. “Hello Sandy. How are you doing today.”

Sandy batted her doe eyes, making Keith just look confused by the whole thing. Shiro grabbed a pamphlet as the woman started talking.

“It’s going wonderful today Mr. Shirogane. The doctor will see you in Autumn room…” Sandy watched as Shiro turned towards Keith, leaving the woman to quickly write something down on a post it note. 

“Well, I’ll see you in about...an hour…” Shiro glanced at his watch, before waving goodbye at Keith and walking down the hallway. 

Keith put his hands in his pocket, watching as Shiro left his sight before sighing. A small giggle averted his attention away. 

“You care for your brother greatly. I like that. Caring for one’s family.” Sandy shyly smiled, as she passed Keith the yellow posted it note. Keith blinked, while grabbing it to take a look at it. Keith gave a smile, when he saw a phone number, with her name on it and the word “call me” with hearts. He nodded his head towards her, watching as she smiled. Keith put the number in his pocket and walked away, leaving Sandy to fly on a potential cloud 9.

Keith walked out of the building, making his way towards the car. He opened up the driver’s side, jumping in and sighing heavily. He pulled the note out, opened his glove box, where other notes with numbers were shoved into it.

“One hundred and twenty three…” Keith shoved the paper in there, closing the glove box, sighing heavily. He was used to getting numbers, from men, women, didn’t matter, he just wasn’t interested. He already had too much to deal with to really get anyone involved in his life like that. 

He didn’t want to worry about having someone he cared about getting kidnapped or killed because of his job. He was okay with his teammates because they, for the most part, could hold their own. They were in the same job, so they knew the risks. Keith didn’t have any family he knew of, so he wasn’t worried about that at all. 

He started his car, wondering when he should just gather all those numbers and just toss them. He breathed in in frustration, only to smell Lance’s smell from the shirt. Lance’s words echoed in his head of “switching things up.” He leaned his arms across the driver's wheel, moaning at how his mind wouldn’t shut up at the thought of Lance’s offer.

The blush on his face was starting to creep again, more so when he remembered Shiro saw in him Lance’s shirt without knowing it. 

“Damn it…” Keith pulled away and shifted the car into drive. He pulled out of the driveway, making his back onto the streets, finding something to kill time and his confused emotions. 

****

Pidge smiled as she drank away at her ice coffee, laptop in hand with some comedy tv show playing. A knock on the door, caused the girl to blink in confusion. She got up, walking her way over. She opened the door and peered out to see an extremely happy Coran. In his hands, was a brand new drone. This right here, set Pidge off into a frenzy.

She swung the door open, pulling the strange looking triangle tech from hands. Coran was used to Pidge’s little “gimme” actions.

“Come in Coran! What new toy did you bring me today?” Pidge started to play with it, already pressing buttons and not having a clue what it does.

“Your father made that for you. Told me you could name it.” The older man smiled, as he watched Pidge tinker away at the thing. Her smile grew when she found out her father made it. “It’s a neat prototype, don’t you think?”

Pidge nodded, as she got the thing to work properly. The triangle machines levitated, beeping and booping at her. A green light washed over her face, reading her emotions. Pidge smiled, hands clenched in an over excited fashion.

“I’m going to name it Rover!” The moment she gave it a name, the drone circled around her, as if it was in joy. It stopped right infront of her, hovering. “I think Rover likes it’s name. Let’s see what else it can do!”

Pidge looked at Coran, who was at the coffee machine, making himself a cold coffee drink. He played with is growing mustache, as he started to muse.

“If you think that is impressive, wait till you see the arm your father is making for Shiro. It works on brain waves, and nanotech…” At the sound of that, Coran took pleasure to see Pidge glow even more, if that was possible. “It should be finished in the next month or so, depending on how well his PT is going, we should be able to hook him up in no time!”

Coran glanced down at his ice coffee, finished and ready to be drank. Pidge was over the moon at hearing the news about Shiro getting a new arm.

“Do Hunk, Lance and Keith know yet? If not, I want to share!” Pidge shut down the moment Coran raised his finger.

“Not yet my dear! Not even Shiro knows this. I’m only telling you because you will be running maintenance on his arm when the time comes for it.” Coran smiled, watching as Pidge started to pout. “I know, you want to share, but give it one more month. Your brother should be coming over next week with the documents…”

Pidge nodded, returning her attention back over to Rover.

“Well, the news just keeps getting better and better. I’ll keep quiet about the arm...but I am so going to share Rover with everyone!” Pidge pulled out her phone from her pocket and started dialing “69”.

****

Lance looked at his phone, his eye raised as the name came acrossed it. “Green Gremlin.” He gave a half smirk, before sighing and swiping the call to ignore. He placed the item back into his jacket pocket, returning back to his search for the mission information at Idy At’s. The cello case he had around his shoulder, didn’t stick out at all in the scenery, as violinist and street singers littered the area. 

Lance couldn’t help himself as he cracked a smile. If people only knew what fire power hid in the case.

A CheyTac M200, lightweight, bolt action sniper rifle. One of Lance’s favorites. 

35 pounds was nothing for Lance to carry, more so when it lets him have accuracy, range and power. The 408 round was huge, he could easily line the cello case with 35 rounds, but for this mission. A 7 round magazine for easy and flowing accuracy when it came to loading. 

Lance was cautious, knowing full well someone was probably watching him. If they wanted him dead, he’d probably be dead right now. After all, the place he was at was wide open for any sniper to be placed and positioned. It just, Lance didn’t see any signs or sights for a sniper rifle to be placed. There was no reflection, no glare. Does not mean he was safe.

With a slight look over, Lance saw something catch his eye. It was an insignia, one used for Voltron. Just this color was different from the main 6, this one was purple. Lance walked over, leaning his Cello case on the wall and pretending to tie his shoe. As he pulled himself up, a slide of the hand made him pull on the purple insignia. To his surprise, it was a USB.

He glanced around one last time, before heading out of the area. This job was getting more interesting. 

****

Shiro walked out, looking around for a familiar car. He smiled and waved when he saw it. The car pulled up and the doors unlocked, leaving the one armed man to open it and jump in.

“Hey Keith. I see you didn’t talk to Sandy. She was super disappointed you didn’t text or call her yet?” Shiro laughed, seeing Keith was “totally” thrilled by Shiro’s comment. The man leaned over, grabbing his seatbelt and clicking it. “Then what was that blush about this morning? Unless it was something else…”

Shiro slide glanced Keith, watching the other man squirm in the driver's seat. Shiro showed his teeth, a wide grin taking over.

“Don’t tell me, you have someone already do…” Shiro closed his mouth as the younger man’s voice cracked. Shiro was on the mark.

“It’s nothing like that Shiro. I’m just not interested is all…” Keith pulled the car out, ignoring the looks Shiro was giving him. “Besides, it’s nothing serious…”

Shiro stuck his tongue out, teasing Keith relentlessly, leaving Keith to narrow his eyes as he focused his attention to the road.

“Nothing serious huh...right…” Shiro looked out the window, a smirk on his face. “ Do I know her?”

Keith let out a sigh, regretting he even mentioned it.

“No, you don’t know her…” Keith held back a smile. Shiro didn’t know “her”, but he damn well knew “him”. Keith could only imagine how that conversation would go if Shiro or Allura ever found out. “I met her from one of those online dating places.”

Shiro smiled, happy to know Keith had someone, even if he didn’t want to share who. Shiro could understand that aspect, their life tended to be a little dangerous. Shiro’s mind started to go into it’s dark place again. He couldn’t imagine if his “nothing serious” date was in the room when Keith got kidnapped or when the bomb went off in the apartment.

“So, was it before or after my accident? When you met her?” Shiro knew that Keith knew that man was fishing for information.

“Before you got blown up, so fat chance looking at my old laptop or getting Pidge to do it for you…” Keith saw Shiro pout and cross whatever arm he had left over his chest. It was sharp, but damn Keith did not want to open that can of worms. “Can we get lunch or something, talk about anything else…”

Shiro let out a sigh, mumbling.

“Buzz kill...How about we go looking for a new TV for you, grab a DVD and eat at your new place?” Shiro didn’t really want to eat out in public, he got to many looks from strangers. He didn’t blame them, it just bugged him from time to time.

Keith mused at the thought. 

“Sounds like a good idea to me!” He was grateful Shiro dropped the subject and went with something else, like shopping. Having Shiro around was a bonus because he could use Shio’s disability for discount.

****

Hunk let out a heavy yawn. His large hand knocked on the door in front of him, letting the knock play in a playful tune. It was a long day and all he wanted to do was watch some movies with Lance and crash. 

He stood there for awhile, only to get silence in return. Hunk crossed his arms, thinking. Lance wasn’t home, or Lance pulled a Keith and got kidnapped and someone rigged his door to explode.

The thought bugged Hunk to no end. Ever since Shiro got blown up, Hunk had been having issues when it came to opening doors. He turned towards his backpack, pulling out some neat looking, futuristic gizmo. He looked threw the machine’s glass eye, peering at the door that lead to Lance’s apartment.

Hunk let out a relieved sigh, seeing that no bomb was placed there. He put the machine away and pulled out the spare key he had on him. He entered the place, looking around. The lights were off. Lance wasn’t home. 

The Gold strong man, walked around, turning on the lights. He blinked when he saw a note pad on the kitchen table. He made his way over to it and picked it up. With a deep frown, he read the note out to himself in a “mocking” tone.

“Got offered a job. Make yourself at home, see you tonight or tomorrow morning.” 

The “L” on the note caused Hunk to blow at his bangs. He placed the note down, before heading towards the fridge and mumbling.

“Stupid Lance and his stupid side jobs is going to get his stupid ass killed in the most stupidest way possible….” Hunk didn’t mean it, he was just pissed Lance went off without telling him where he was going. He had hoped Lance would have stopped with the side jobs, but it seemed like the man wasn’t going to stop any time soon. 

In the fridge, Hunk grabbed a soda and some pre-made sandwiches. The man walked over to Lance’s couch, laying down on it and turning on the TV. He took a bite and smiled when he tasted it. He gave a slight hum.

“Chicken Salad sandwiches. Lance, you sure know how to make me forgive you…” Hunk took another bite, changing the channel in hopes of finding something fun to watch.

*********

Lance was sweating. He was in it deep and he was beyond fucked without even pulling the trigger. He was on his stomach, his sights marked in on four people he knew he could take out in no time. Just the thing was, he was in major Galra territory, at an event that was someone’s party. 

Lance sure was going to make someone’s birthday a literal mind blowing experience.

He just knew, once he blew off seven rounds, he’d better load quick, fire off and move. Otherwise, he’d be good as caught and worse of all “not dead”. If he died, Lance wouldn’t have to worry about being traded over for ransom, or tortured for information, raped and or experiment on.

Lance cleared his thoughts. Mermaid was the last thing he needed on his mind at the moment. He adjusted his scope, setting his sights on his targets. He was ready to pull the trigger, when he heard a “click” behind him. 

“Shit…” Lance whispered. He raised his hands up, away from the trigger. He didn’t move from his position, because if he knew he did, he’d get shot.

“I’m not here to kill you boy.” The voice was somewhat commanding. “I was the one who sent you that mission report. My gun here, is for my protection against you. Now give me a thumbs up to tell me you understand….”

Lance did as told, only moving one hand and giving the unknown man a thumbs up. Lance swallowed hard, trying to calm his beating heart. He gave a sigh, when he heard the man holster his gun. 

“Can I move now?” Lance asked, not sure if the guy was messing around with him or not.  
“You can. As you can trust me as well.” The man walked away from the window, so he and Lance would not have their position taken away. Lance looked over, seeing a man whose face was covered. The youth smiled, seeing the stranger had a sniper rifle as well.

“I like your M24. God Bless of whatever is left of the Good Old US of A.” Lance cracked. He waited for the man to set up his station at the other window. “If you don’t mind me asking, what brings you out here today?”

The mystery man sighed, somewhat irritated by the youth in the room.

“Revenge...Bastards killed my son...They killed the King too…” The masked man breathed out of his nose, seeing how Lance reacted to the name “King”. “He gave me your number and told me you could be trusted if he were to ever die.”

Lance pressed his lips together, focusing his rifle again.

“I take it you are the insider, Purple? Giving King our targets huh…” Lance licked his lips, getting ready to take out as many as he could with 35 rounds. “You must be one pissed off fellow to get these bastards with their pants down.”

The mystery man worked away, almost done with his set up. His strange colored eyes glanced over at Lance. He rummaged for something out of his back pocket and handed it over the the Voltron Sniper. 

Lance reached over, looking at it. It was a pin, a silver star. 

“If you see this, it means we are in resistance inside of Zarkon’s army. Anyone with this star, can be trusted. If you are ever in a bad situation, pray you are in the hands of one of my men. We have it positioned at the top left corner.” The man returned to his riffle, fixing it up. “Now get ready boy, take out as many as you can then get the hell out of here…”

Lance nodded, glaring out and setting his crosshairs on one man’s head. He gave a smile when it started to line up with a few more other chromosomes.

“I’m ready…” 

Lance pulled back the trigger, watching as the first bullet shattered the window and traveled through three heads, dropping the Galra citizens. He quickly pulled back the bolt, firing another shot at a stunned onlooker who was soon splatter on the wall. 

Lance could hear the mystery man shooting as well, he could see him hit his own targets, taking them out two by two with only five bullets in his internal magazine. 

The two snipers worked in unison, firing, loading, grabbing their extra magazines so not to waste time fumbling for bullets. Before Lance knew it, he was on his fifth mag and final round. It seemed to rang in silence as it splattered another man’s head with its gory beauty. 

The Mystery man finished as well, ready to leave, but both he and Lance turned towards the exit, a man with a gun came charging in. Lance quickly pulled out his handgun from his side, firing two shots into the man’s chest. He got up, grabbing his rifle and started to head for the door. Lance quickly leaned on it, looking out around the corner. He narrowed his eyes when he saw men waiting for him and his partner. 

He grabbed a grenade, tossing it at their direction and quickly turning away, hoping the blast wouldn’t take out the all he was hiding behind or knock the foundation loose. He covered his ears, letting the shock wave and sound tell him it went off. 

Purple took that moment and grabbed Lance by the wrist, dragging the boy along into another room across the way, leaving Lance to hope they wouldn’t get tagged in the process.

“Follow me, I have an escape rout….” The man quickly shut the door behind them and locked it. He motioned for Lance to follow him to a closet. The two men made their way over there. The Masked man opened the door, showing a pipe that head down, beyond that of the first floor. “Down we go boy…”

The masked man grabbed onto the poll, sliding down with ease. Lance counted to five, before jumping on and sliding down with him. The man moved out of the way, letting Lance land just a few seconds behind him and closing the closet door behind him. 

Lance looked around the room, shocked that this was even here. It wasn’t on the blueprints he looked over. It was old, almost maze like.

“Okay old man, where to now?” Lance adjusted his rifle, so it wasn’t digging into his shoulder. Lance left the man pull on his collar, dragging him along again in a strong fashion. 

“We can make an exist down by the gate. That’s where the system drains out of … after that, you will take a motorcycle I left out for you.” The man lead Lance farther away from polls. The snipers could hear wind and the sound of rustling leaves echo down corridor. 

Both men cautiously walked towards the exit, glancing around. When there were no signs of soldiers, they headed out, Lance following close behind the older man. They made it to a treeline, where a motorcycle lay covered in a net that matched the foliage.

“Take this bike as part of your payment. The other will come within the week. Don’t worry, there is no tracking device, the title with inside the dash and it can’t be traced back to this location. It’s clean..” The man watched as Lance pulled the machine out, smiling to himself as the youth admired it for a quick moment before jumping on it.

“What about you Purple, how are you going to get away?” Lance didn’t want to leave him, even if he didn’t really know the guy.

“Don’t you worry about me. I’ll contact you when I get back to my base. I’ll text you “safe”.” The man reached his hand out and rested it on his shoulder. “Before you leave, do you have anything you want to say to your family?”

Lance looked in utter shock, before quickly covering up his emotions, he could sort that out on another day.

“Tell my mom...I’m okay. I’m keeping my head low. They will understand that…” Lance started the the machine, kicking it off and revving the engine. The man let go of Lance’s shoulder, watching the youth leave in a rushed hurry. The red tail lights fading away into the dark. 

Purple quickly turned, returning the way in which he came from, back into the old maze. 

All that was left, was the sound of screaming people, commenting orders for a search party.

****

Keith smiled when he heard a snoring Shiro. He glanced up from his position on the floor, seeing that the older man was out. He got up, adjusting Shiro so he could relax more on the new couch, before heading off to go grab a new blanket. 

Keith couldn’t help but be upset at how new everything was. He missed his old stuff and was pissed that he didn’t have anything to call his own. Not even the shirt he was wearing was his. With one final pout, he made his way back to Shiro and rested it over his damaged body. 

Keith leaned on the couch, looking down at his brother. His scared face didn’t take away his “good looks”, or Shiro said. But that damned white patch of hair sure was distracting. Keith frowned, already telling Shiro to dye it, but his brother proclaimed in was his characteristic now.

Keith was distracted by the TV as a special news report shot on, causing him to rise an eyebrow.

“Breaking news today in the city of Truro. Two snipers went on a rampage at Commander Haggar’s private event. The Commander has escaped with minor injuries, but 53 people were killed and 27 more injured during the event. A statewide man hunt has been issued. Anyone with any information is urged to turn in these killers. A rewards will be granted. More at 7 when the story progresses..”

Keith gave a whistle, hearing about the kill count and the two snipers getting away. It was rather impressive feat, one he hoped would have knocked the Galra empire down a few pegs. He was a bit disappointed that these snipers were not on Voltron, the would give a Lance a run for his money.

Keith crossed his arms, feeling a headache come alone. He was thinking about Lance again, the last person he wanted to think about. His mind was still swimming at the possibility of Lance taking him. The thought was almost turning him on.

Keith took one last glance over at Shiro, making sure he was out, before walking over to his laptop on the diner table. He turned it on, watching it start up in no time. He went to the volume control and put it on mute. He clicked on a link, entered in “incognito” icon. 

He glanced one last time at Shiro, so not to get caught and explain something embarrassing.

*How to do anal for dummies--First Time*

The blush that overtook Keith was priceless when he clicked his first link. He covered his mouth to stop from letting his jaw drop, not really knowing the art of anal and all that applied to it. He felt a the gnawing guilt take cover him when the part came up that “it should not hurt”. 

He still felt guilty for what he did to Lance. He was more soft with him after it though. After Hunk make him aware you don’t hurt people during sex like that. He made sure Lance healed up, before fucking his brains out, like this morning. Keith hid his smile underneath his hands, recalling as he made Lance wither underneath him.

Keith pulled away, his arms crossed. He glanced over at Shiro, he was now a bit irritated the man was here. There was no way in hell he’d be able to prep “anything” with him around. It would have been to awkward if he got caught. Keith didn’t even have everything the site was calling for, save for the condoms and lubes.

How in the hell was Lance so prepared for that, Keith didn’t want to know.

He exited out of the site, closed his laptop and rested his head on it.

He had it bad and that bad was named Lance.

****

Hunk woke up with the front door being opened and a really dirty looking Lance. The sniper nodded his head towards his friend, who rested his arm over the back of the couch. 

“Rough night?” Hunk asked, giving a sly smile. “Wouldn’t have to do with what happened in Truro would it?”

The look Lance gave Hunk was all he needed to know that big man was right. He smiled, getting up to go make some breakfast, taking Lance’s silence as his moment to shine.

“Honestly, I never took you for working with another Sniper. Must have been one heck of a party. 53 people killed, 27 wounded. Pay must have been good for you to do some major damage like that.” Hunk pulled out some eggs, watching as Lance pulled off his cello case and resting it on the wall. Hunk smiled, cracking open some eggs and whisking them in a bowl. He turned on the stove, waiting for Lance to relax. “Was it worth it?”

Lance walked over to the shower, saluting Hunk before heading in.

“I got an Icon Sheene out of it and I’m also getting more. So yeah, it was damn worth it. Besides, took out some heavy hitters….” Lance didn’t even need to see Hunk’s face at he worked the math together. “I won’t be doing side missions for at least a year after this…”

Hunk noticed Lance was not talking about the second sniper, so he figured it wasn’t something Hunk needed to know. He just happily worked his way on his eggs, letting Lance do his thing.

“I’ll make you breakfast then you can crash for the morning.” Hunk smiled when he heard Lance call out to him.

“Hunk, my man, you are way too good for me.” The voice echoed with running water. 

Hunk let out a sigh, letting the eggs cook evenly in the pan, throwing shredded cheese and ham. He let it sit, before flipping it, letting everything melt together. Once he was done, he removed it from the heat and placed it on the plate. Once he was done with that, he placed salsa on the omlet. 

Lance walked out, one towel wrapped around his waist, another towel drying his hair. He was clean now, but still tired, but not tired enough to miss a good home cooked meal from Hunk.

Lance sat down as Hunk placed the food down in front of him. The near naked man glanced up at this cook.

“You know, if you didn’t have Shay, I’d make you my husband.” Lance grabbed a fork and knife, cutting into the yellow surface and taking a slow bite to savor the food. Hunk came up, kissing Lance on the head.

“I love you too man and I’m honored you think that.” Hunk placed the pan in the sink, getting ready to leave. Lance started to pout.

“Are you leaving already man?” Lance leaned back, watching as Hunk leaned on the door. Lance didn’t want to be alone, not after that shit that went down last night. 

“I have to go back and finish up with Allura. Shiro will be back in the next two weeks, so I’ll have more freetime. Till then buddy, work time.” Hunk smiled opening the door, only for Hunk’s smile to fall to a deep frown.

Keith was about to knock on the door when Hunk opened it up, looking somewhat shocked, but the shock faded away to the most scariest frown Keith had ever seen the man give him. Keith knew he was on Hunk’s shit list. 

“Uh...Hey…” Keith was able to stammer out as he let his hand dropped with a bag in hand. Keith had spent a long time avoiding Hunk as much as possible, because he didn’t want to be “Jiminy Cricketed” again. “Is Lance home?” 

Hunk leaned in calling out to Lance.

“Hey Lance, Keith is here.” Hunk watched as Lance smiled, only to drop it with the look Hunk gave him. “Want me to throw his ass out?”

Lance sighed, poking at his food. 

“No Hunk, it’s alright. You have a good day at work...” Lance gave a little laugh.

Hunk turned his attention back towards Keith, who was still standing in the hallway. The taller man glared down, bumping into Keith to prove a point. Keith watched as Hunk left, closing the door exit door behind him.

Keith sighed, entering Lance’s apartment before commenting.

“Will he ever like me or am I stuck in the dog house with him?” Keith asked, walking towards Lance at the table. Lance started kicking his feet, smiling.

“Hunk’s a good guy Keith, he’s just looking out for me is all.” Lance cut some omelet for Keith and placed the fork in front of his face. Keith took a bite, his face lighting up. “He’ll warm up to you. Besides, if he didn’t like you, he would have dragged you away…”

Keith placed the bag on the table, leaving Lance to wonder out loud.

“What’s in the bag?” Lance continued to eat, slowly watching Keith creep to a slow blush. 

“About yesterday...you wanted to try something different…” Keith looked away, becoming extremely aware Lance had no clothes on. Lance held the fork in his mouth, just staring down at Keith with silver dollar eyes. 

“You are not serious are you?” Lance let out a nervous laugh, he must be suffering from lack of sleep. Keith moved his hand away from the bag, biting his lip.

“You know what, never mind…” Keith got up, ready to leave and hope things returned back to normal and that Lance would never bring up this incident again. “I think I should go…”

Lance quickly got up, grabbing Keith by the wrist, holding him in place.

“Please stay….” Lance tensed. He hadn’t meant to say that. Not those words to someone like Keith. Lance quickly let go, looking lost. Keith remembered that look, he had seen it before when he was at the base.

It made his heart skip.

“...I’ll stay…” Keith just looked at Lance, seeing how tired he was. “Are you okay?”

Lance turned around, not looking at Keith, he let his arms sag. 

“I’m just tired from not sleeping all night.” It was dawning on Lance that he was only covered by his towel wrapped around his waist. The air around him was cold, giving his body goosebumps. 

Keith blinked, not sure what Lance as going on about.

“What kept you up all night?” Keith watched as Lance gave a sly smile, his teeth showing.

“Have you not seen the news?” Lance watched as Keith’s face went from confused to that of admiration. “But keep that between you and me okay?”

“No way, you were one of the snipers at that place? How in the hell did you pull something like that off and with who?” Keith was at a loss. He did not expect Lance to get to one place to another real quick. “How did you cross state lines so quick?”

Lance smiled, returning to his set so he could finish breakfast.

“Not only am I a Sniper. I’m also a pilot. It takes 2 hours via private jet.” Lance shrugged, eating his breakfast again. “As much as I may look it, I’m no idiot. This is why we normally do our missions away from our safe areas...”

Keith smiled, getting to know Lance more and more, even if it was small information. 

“Wait, don’t tell me you have been the pilot the whole time and I didn’t know about it!” Keith leaned on the counter, amazed at Lance’s talents. 

“Well yeah, Hunk is my co-pilot. You should have noticed when we were not in the passenger seating with everyone else.” Lance side glanced Keith, not sure if he was that stupid or not. “Please tell me you are more aware than that…”

Keith crossed his arms, letting his hair cover his eyes. 

“I honestly thought you were there before everyone else...I guess you are just that fast…” Keith was amazed at what else Lance could do. “If you don’t mind, maybe you can take me out flying sometime and teach me? I’ve been wanting to take classes…”

Lance smiled, giving a tired sigh. He was done with breakfast, now with his jet lagged mind, he glanced over at the bag Keith had brought. 

“Sounds like a plan...so...What’s in the bag?” Lance saw Keith quickly changed into calm to panicked.

“No...thing….” Keith bit his lip, reaching for the bag, but Lance got to it first. Keith quickly got up, chasing after the man who was playing keep away. “Lance, it's nothing honest…”

Keith lunged for it, only for Lance to trip backwards. Both men came crashing down on the carpet. The contents of the bag fell out, tumbling on the floor, much to Keith’s horror. 

Lance laid on the ground, his back on the floor, his head tilted. Keith pushed himself up, legs straddled across Lance’s hips as he started to look away from Lance’s curious gaze. 

The laughter that escaped Lance’s lips, made Keith move off of him. This was way too early for Lance’s cherry attitude. 

“Is that a butt plug?” Lance pushed himself up, resting on his elbows as he looked at Keith. The sniper raised an eyebrow, smiling. “Were you honestly thinking about it?”

Keith gave up fighting his blush. He just glared down at Lance, who was still laughing like a madman.

“I’m sorry, here I honestly thought you wanted to change things up and I was thinking about it.” Keith stomped his foot. “Do you know how hard it was for me to buy something like that? I kill people without a bat of an eye, yet buying sex toys I come apart.” 

Lance didn’t want to admit it, but a flustered Keith was rather cute. If he had know this would set him off into a blushing fit, he would have done it weeks ago. Lance pushed himself up, making his way over to the fallen sex toys and lubes. His towel was slowly starting to slip, which was a miracle considering Lance moved around in it like a dancer. 

“You know, you don’t have to do it if you're not comfortable it.” Lance was honored Keith wanted to try. When Lance looked back at Keith, he froze. The man was pissed.

“But I want to try...I’ve always been curious and you are my only fuck buddy...so…” Keith was at a loss. “We don’t have to try it out right now away ways…”

Lance put the items in the bag, placing it back on the table. He walked up to Keith, glancing down at him.

“I can give you some tips tho, if you don’t mind. We can work our way up to it…” Lance could not believe he was having this conversation at the moment. He could blame it on jet lag or his growing boner at the thought of pounding into Keith. “I don’t mind…”

Keith sighed, feeling he was being pushed again, when this time it was him wanting something. Keith looked up, seeing how tired Lance was. 

“I have an idea, if you don’t mind…” Keith watched as Lance’s flirty smile, fell away to a frown.

“Last time you had an idea, you left me tied up to my bed.” Lance narrowed his eyes at Keith, stepping away from him just in case he had that in mind.

“Nothing like that. Lets just go to the couch. I’ll make it worth your while.” Keith pulled Lance along by the towel, causing Lance to smile again. 

Lance didn’t mind, he was chill with whatever Keith had planned for him. 

The TV was still on, going on about the “terrorist attack” as they walked into the room.

Keith pulled Lance to the couch, placing him down in the center. Lance couldn’t help but smile as he felt butterflies in his stomach. 

“What do you have in mind?” Lance had an idea, he just wanted to hear it from Keith’s lips. Keith kneeled down, placing his hands on Lance’s legs. The towel just hiding the prize Keith was looking for.

“I want to congratulate you for your kill list and coming back without getting caught…” Keith pulled Lance’s legs apart, leaving the blue towel hiding the man’s erection. Lance kept his eyes on Keith, while sucking on his own lips. 

“You know, it’s not everyday I get rewarded like this...normally is just cash, but I guess this is a bonus.” Lance relaxed back into the cushion, his heart beating in his chest. He was tired, but not too tired for what was going to happen. 

Keith leaned in, closer to Lance’s penis. The man moved his pale hands up tanned thighs, creeping up and pulling away the only fabric Lance had on him. Keith smiled, leaning in and kissing up Lance’s inner leg, getting closer and closer.

Lance was starting to pant and Keith hadn’t even really done anything yet. He watched as Keith’s tongue started to trail up his hard shaft. For Lance, this was something special, as normally he’d be the one giving a blow job, not the other way around. 

Getting one from Keith, was nothing Lance really expected, so he was surprised.

Keith looked up from his spot between Lance’s legs, his eyes half lidded as he teased Lance’s heat. Keith smiled as he watched Lance struggle to keep in a moan. Lance held tight to the fabric underneath him, digging his nails into it.

“Fuck…” Lance heaved, looking down and watching as Keith, started sucking the tip. His tongue playing with the slit and pressing on it, causing Lance to lean forward and gasp. “Where in the fuck did you learn this?”

Keith took in Lance’s throbbing head, humming as he sucked. It was slow, teasing and fun. Keith loved the saltiness of the precum on Lance’s tip, more than he thought he would. He also noticed how he loved Lance’s smell. Gun oil and old spice. 

Lance reached one hand out, gripping onto Keith’s thick black hair. Watching as Keith lowered himself deeper onto Lance’s long cock. Each inch, left Keith pulling away, before he bobbed down again. Lance could tell Keith was having a hard time going deeper, as he could hear Keith gag ever so often with each suck. 

Lance felt an orgasim sneaking up on him, he knew he was going to cum. With a soft yank, he pulled Keith away from his raging member. Keith looked somewhat upset, but it quickly went away when Lance came all over his face and hair.

Keith never looked so hot to Lance in that moment as he did now. Puffy, swollen lips, flushed cheeks, glassy eyes, covered in his seed. Lance wanted to kiss Keith so badly, but he didn’t. In the back of his mind, he knew if he did, everything could be over.

Keith stood up, looking somewhat accomplished at what he did. Lance blinked, looking up at Keith who started wipe his face off with his dirty shirt. 

“I take it, I did rather well for my first blow job…” Keith was still flushed, trying to come down from his own high. “You’re just way too long for me.”

Lance didn’t dare move, he was too relaxed and even more drained. He gave a sleep smile, letting know Keith did well.

“For your first time, I’m rather surprised. No teeth or nothing…” Lance laid down, covering his waist with his towel. “ You need to work on your gag reflex tho.”

Keith rolled his eyes, making his way towards the bathroom so he could clean up some more.

“I’m gonna take a shower. I’ll see you in a bit…” Keith didn’t get an answer, so he just shrugged, figuring he could talk to Lance later. He walked in, looking at himself in the mirror and started blushing. He was a total mess. 

Keith pulled his shirt off, looking into the mirror as he started to roll his tongue. He gave a laugh, never figuring rolling his tongue as a kid would help him out later on in the future. The video tutorials didn’t hurt either.

Keith opened up a cupboard, grabbing a towel and leaving it on the counter. He made his way over, turning on the tap. He let it run a bit, before taking off his pants and briefs. He entered the shower and started to wash himself clean. 

He let the water run down his face, relaxing. Keith was hot and bothered, but he wasn’t going to ask Lance to help him let go, he could be used at another time for that. Keith washed his hair, letting the suds wash away his sin. 

He turned it off, walked out and grabbed the towel. He dried himself off and looked in the mirror again. He looked clean again, passable for when he had to leave. His cloths on the other hand, were a lost cause. He mused, wondering if he could ask Lance if he could borrow some clothes. 

He walked out, to see Lance hadn’t moved from his spot. He walked around, to see the Sniper and succumbed to the call of sleep. Keith sighed, looking around for a throw blanket. He found one sitting on a rocker. He quickly grabbed it before making his way back over to Lance and carefully tossing it on him. 

Lance didn’t even open his eyes when the blanket was draped over him. He just grabbed it, greatful to have some warmth to wrap around him. Keith reached his hand out, brushing Lance’s hair away from his eyes. He watched as his chest rose and fell, calm and steady.

Keith pulled his hand away, swallowing hard. He shouldn’t be here, watching Lance sleep. He should be gone, he shouldn’t be something so private. An unguarded Lance, his defenses down. It made him look so much younger, so much more human. 

Keith clenched his fist, moving away from Lance and towards the snipers bedroom. He turned on the light and started searching for something to wear in Lance’s closet. He found a pair of black pants and a white tank top. 

He smiled, quickly tossing them on before searching out his shoes he mindlessly kicked off in the process of going to the shower. 

Keith found them and quickly pulled them on. Keith looked back at Lance, who was still sleeping. The news still on the tv, still going on about the attack. His mind fell back to when Lance grabbed his hand, asking him to “Please Stay.”

Keith looked at the front door, before giving a long hiss from his teeth.

“Damn it.”

****

Allura was not amused at all when she was going over the paperwork on her tablet. 

Before her, were reports that a member of “her” team had gone behind “her” back. It was just Allura’s luck that it was two snipers and not just the one. The one in questioned just happened to be Blue, Lance McClain. 

Allura’s cold blue eyes landed on Hunk, who was a stand in for Black when he could not be there. Hunk felt those eyes on his back as he worked out a future mission plan.

“Can I help you Princess? Or are you just going to glare at me all day?” Gold was in no mood to deal with Allura’s silence. He was no Shiro, so he didn’t just “roll” with it. 

“I need to know the whereabouts of Blue in the last 48 hours.” Allura watched as Hunk left out a heavy sigh. She could tell the big man was hiding something. “I want to make sure he wasn’t where he was not supposed to be....”

Hunk glanced up from his document, a smile on his face.

“I don’t know about the his whole whereabouts, but I can say this. In the last 24 hours, Lance and I have been watching movies.” Hunk as a matter of fact look on his face. “I made him breakfast. An egg omelet with cheese and diced ham.”

The Princess wasn’t buying everything Gold was trying to sell her. She knew Blue’s MO, but she also knew Blue always sniped alone when offered side jobs. She looked over at the reports, trying to figure out a way out of this.

There was no sign that Lance was there at all. No video, his airplane wasn’t touched, his bank account was still the same. Nothing on mobile or laptop for that matter. If Lance had done it, he was very good at hiding it. He just needed to hide his marksmanship better. 

As for the other sniper, that one could have been Blue too. His marksmanship was spot on. Targets were taken out, more so marked, with fatal damage to the face. This sniper was more angry and it felt less like a job. 

Or the third option. Lance wasn’t there at all. As Snipers are not known to bunk in the same location when firing.

Either way, Allura had to report something to her higher ups, what she did not know. Hunk saw her racking her brain and he felt bad for her. She was under a lot more pressure then normal. 

“Princess, how about you send a report back that Blue was not in the area. He had alibis of his whereabouts confirmed. …” Gold looked down at his tablet. A large red mark was seen. The Princess too, had one show up on her screen as well.

The documents that they did have, were quickly pulled away and taken to the trash by some hacking force. Both Princess and Gold glanced at each other, seeing the files whisked away by someone who had more clearance than them.

Once everything was gone, a purple “V” was spinning on the tablets, causing Allura to smile and relax. With one wide grin, she looked over at Hunk.

“Well, I guess that settles it. It wasn’t Blue after all. It was a team on the inside.” Allura had heard her father talk to people in Zarkon’s army. How they didn’t want war any more, nor the unnecessary killing of Civilians.

Gold knew better. He knew Lance was there, but now seeing this Purple, he couldn’t help but wonder if that was the second sniper. 

“How come I’m just now hearing about Purple?” Gold didn’t like being left out of the loop, more so when he had to be a stand in. “I take it the King was part of this?”

The Princess nodded, watching as the Symbol faded away. Allura quickly looked around the system, seeing that everything was cleaned. That no matter what, the terrorist attack would not lead back to anyone on her team. 

“Only King and Orange knew about Purple. I was aware of Purple, because I overheard Orange talking about it with King once. About how he was unsure if he could be trusted or not.” Allura placed the tablet down. “ Seeing how things are now, we are still getting intel on Generals from Zarkon’s Army as targets to be taken out.”

Gold mused.

“So I take it he saw an opportunity to take out as many of those targets himself...huh..” Hunk looked down again, the files were updating. This time, it was a new Target. “Thace Thatcher...12th in command….” 

Princess looked over at Gold, a plan already set in motion to set up a date for execution.

“How does next 30 hours sound?” Allura swiped the document left, reading more on file about the man on the next hit list. “Make sure to send roses to his wife once we are done. She looks like a normal citizen.”

Hunk nodded, opening up a premade mission plan for the week. Lance sure was going to be busy for awhile to come.

*****

Lance woke up to the sound of a text going off. The TV was still on, a man in uniform stood in front of a podium, a look of fire in his eyes. Lance got up, holding the blanket close, looking around he noticed he was alone. He let out a disappointed sigh, before focusing his attention on the man speaking. 

The title card read “General Thace Thatcher”. He was going on about the investigation. Lance couldn’t help but tune in after the man said there was only “one” sniper. It was then Lance swallowed hard.

The man’s voice was familiar. It was the masked man he had met while on the mission. Lance smiled, excited to know who the insider was. He looked at Thace’s left collar, seeing the same silver star the mystery man gave him.

It was nice to know who he could trust when the shit hit the fan on the other side if need be, he was just shocked that it was someone in Zarkon’s inner circle. Lance leaned forward, thinking about Thace’s words on how he wanted revenge and a dead son. Lance mused, wondering if his kid was forced into Zarkon’s child soldiers unit like Lance was forever ago.

“What you thinking about?”

Lance jumped a mile high as Keith whispered in his ear. Leaving Keith to quickly dodge from Lance’s reaction. Lance held the blanket close around him, letting his shock die down. He thought he was alone.

“Keith? What...what are you doing here?” Lance was letting his heartbeat return to normal as he held his legs close to his body. “I thought you left….”

Keith smiled as he sat down, handing over a coffee to Lance, who cautiously took it. Keith was happy, seeing a different side of Lance.

“You asked me to stay, so I stayed.” Keith watched as Lance looked away, into his coffee. The sniper drank slowly, keeping his eyes downcast.

“Thank you…” Lance didn’t know what to say to Keith beyond that, he expected him to be gone like aways. Lance turned his attention towards the TV. The man finished his speech, causing Lance to snap his head up when he saw another man enter the screen. That man too, had a silver star on his left collar. 

Keith saw that look, the look of joy in his face.

“Do you know that man?” Keith looked at a tall, tanned brunette man with a goatee on the screen. He had a familiar look to him, like he was a relation to Lance.

“That’s my older brother….I haven’t seen him since I was 10…It’s nice to know he’s still alive…” Lance quickly shut his mouth, remembering who he was talking too. “But he’s free game now…”

Keith was in shock at how Lance said it. Like his brother could be a target Lance could have easily sniped without a second thought. 

“You are not honest about that are you?” Keith was upset. For someone who didn’t have a family to call his own and here was Lance going on about taking out his own flesh and blood. “He’s your family. How can you even…”

Lance looked over at Keith, his eyes cool. Part of him was upset that the thought never crossed Keith’s mind that he had to take some people out he might know. Another part of him, was touched that Keith would be hesitant on a kill. That was something Lance didn’t need.

“Keith, have you never taken out anyone you knew before?” Lance watched as Keith swallowed. The Sniper took the assassins silence as a yes. “Well I have, on more than one occasion.”

Keith was hesitant, not sure what Lance would do.

“Would you take out anyone from team Voltron? Like Hunk or Allura?...Me?” Keith watched as Lance leaned back, thinking over that prospect. It set Keith off, he pushed Lance down, knocking the coffee to the ground as the cup rolled away in a clatter. “Please tell me you are joking Lance.”

Lance looked up, being pressed hard into the cushioned surface, slight fear in his eyes. Keith’s hands dug into Lance’s arms, causing the man to winch. 

“What are you going to do about it? What if I go rouge? Will you hesitate to kill me, because I can assure you this….” Lance’s eyes peered into Keith’s. “I would kill you.”

Keith pulled away, getting ready to leave in anger. Lance didn’t move from his position, he just stayed their, confused. His mind was racing, he couldn’t figure out why he even said it like that.

“I feel sorry for you Lance…” The Assassin made his way towards the exit, not wanting to be anywhere near the Sniper. “You’ll end up alone that way…”

He opened the door, closing it behind him, leaving Lance behind to think about his words. Lance got up, letting the blanket fall down his shoulders. He glanced down at his arms, where Lance knew Keith’s markings would be with him for awhile, as would his words.

“I’ll end up alone, no matter what…” Lance brought his knees up to his face, wrapping his arms around himself. His eyes, setting on the image of his brother, taking questions from the crowd and answering them to the best of his knowledge. “You did it again Lance.”

He gave a heavy sigh, before getting up to see the message on the Nokia. He walked naked, grabbing the flip phone. To his shock, there were two messages.

*SAFE*

And above that, another message.

*Don’t Kill Me*

Lance let his shoulders fall, wondering what this text message was about. He was in something a lot deeper then he wanted to be. Lance turned his head towards the kitchen as his other cellphone went off. 

Lance let out an annoyed tone, dragging his ass back to the kitchen before grabbing it and looking at it.

It was from a person labeled “Golden Boy”.

*Come in, new job*

Lance let out another desperate sigh. He was going to see Keith again sooner than he thought.

“Oh did I fuck up today…” Lance sighed, understatement of the year. 

****

Black sat down in the mission briefing room next to Red, watching as Gold gave out the Mission Report. Green watched, with Rover hovering by her side. Red had his arms crossed, pissed about something, which was nothing new. Blue had his normal spot by the door, leaned up against the wall. The Princess clicked a button, showing this week's target.

“Our mission will be in the City Omethin. Our Target is Thace Thatcher.” Allura clicked again, watching as the picture changed to the mission layout set up by Gold. “He’s a lower ranked General, but a threat nonetheless. We want in and out, as if we are nothing but dust in the wind.”

Gold watched as Blue lowered his head, his eyes focusing on the target. It interested Hunk to know what Lance was thinking. 

Lance on the other hand, was now figuring out why he got that second text message on the Nokia. Looks like Purple was in so deep, that he had to put a hit on himself to throw off anyone looking for him. No one suspected a man with a hit on him.

“We have a 24 hour on this party. We head on out within the hour. Get ready.” Gold commanded, changing the picture again. “ Red will come in from the sewer system.” Hunk held back and smile when he heard Keith say “damn it”. “Blue will be located at the building complex between southwest, on the 13th floor.” Lance nodded, thinking about his own plan of action. “ Green will be stationed with Black 30 miles away in the mountains. They will be working together on people count and locating our target via CCTV.” Gold turned towards the Princess. “Gold and Princess will be working the dornes and risk factors here on the base. Any questions?”

Blue moved, nodding towards Gold.

“Yeah, I’m taking Red as my co-pilot since I won’t be having you with me Gold.” Lance watched as Hunk nodded at his request, one that the Princess backed up as well. “That is if Red is interested?”

Black looked over at Red, who at turned to look at Blue. It was well aware to Red now, Blue tossed all personal issues aside for the mission. Shiro would question Keith later on how Lance knew he wanted flight training.

“I’m interested.” Red watched as Gold waved the two off to go and get ready. Red watched as Blue left first, before he got up and quickly followed behind, leaving the other members behind in the room.

Keith ran up, catching up with Lance who gave him a side glance.

“What, you wanted to get some flight hours in right?” Lance watched as Keith was overcoming their little conversation from this morning. “ Get over it and get your head into the mission.”

“Whatever you say, Blue…” Keith looked away, still pissed, but Lance was right. Mission came first, emotions came dead last. “Now let's do this.” 

****

Keith swore Hunk sent him down to the sewers because of his relationship with Lance. He could have easily made his way above ground, but no, here he was, knee deep in shit. Which was his life at the moment. 

A ping in his ear made him pissie.

“Black, please tell Gold I am super thrilled by my location. They are more likely to smell me first before they see me coming…” 

Another soft ping made the Assassin roll his eyes.

“I didn’t as you Blue. Stay out of my conversation.” Red was still not in the mood to talk to Blue, let alone hearing his side comments. He was still pissed by the whole thing.

****

“Get over it you piss baby.” Blue cracked across the com, his location set up and ready. He looked out from the binoculars he had around his neck. His eyes narrowed as he saw people in uniforms walk around the base. His eyes ticking off everyone that had a silver star and the ones who didn’t. He had hoped Red wouldn’t have taken out the ones with silver stars.

Blue sighed, not sure how he should contact Purple without giving away his position. He had sent off a text before he left, but he wasn’t sure if the man got it or not. He had at least hope he gave enough warning. It would have been a real shame if any of their comrades in sheep clothings got killed by his or Red’s hand or the Princess’s drones for that matter. 

“Target acquired…” Lance lowered the binoculars, making his way back over to the sniper rifle. He saw more than just the target, he saw his brother as well. Shit was getting too real for him, to personal. Part of him knew eventually he’d run into family while on a mission, that’s why he was prepared for it. “Red. Where are you located?”

Blue sighed, before calling out to another color.

“Green, where is Red Located at? He went dark on me.”

****

Green pulled up a digital map, showing where Red could be located. 

“He’s at the west entrance, you should be able to see him from your...You found him, good.”

Pidged pulled her hair back, before glancing over at Shiro who was glued to the screen. The people he was pulling up from the CCTV, making sure he was zeroed in on the Target. The video feed showed the man, looking rather nervous, his eyes widening. No one looked around like that unless they knew they were a target.

“Black here, keep an eye out. It might be a trap.”

****

Gold watched the video drone feeds, seeing the same things as Black. The Princess quickly focused the drone on someone entering the building Blue was in. She narrowed her eyes, her heartbeat racing.

“Blue, bogies have entered the building.”

****

Blue bit his lip, not liking what he was hearing. He had already set up some none leathal boobie traps, but once’s those were set off, the people on the ground would noticed and be aware they were being watched.

“I’m not liking this. Anyone talk to Red yet?” Blue kept his eyes peeled on Red, as he made his way deeper into the enemy territory. Blue watched as Red snuck up behind someone and snapped his neck, dropping him down to the ground. 

****

Red dragged the deadman behind a dumpster. He quickly started to undress the man and take off his own clothing. He suited up, glad to know he found the right body type that fit his own. 

Red walked out, glancing up at the 13th floor, where he knew Blue was stationed. He adjusted his hat, before turning on his com unit again.

“Red here. Checking in.” Red walked around the area, merging in with the soldiers as if he belonged. “Roger that, I’ll be on the lookout.”

Red didn’t like the thought that everything was a setup. If that was the case, not everyone knew about it, because he took out the guard with simple ease. It was as if he had no idea he was there or not, just living his day like it was any other.

“Are you sure? Maybe the target is just being overly cautious.” Keith mused the whole situation. “After all, many of their higher ups got dusted only a couple of days ago…”

Red snapped his head up, as the building Blue was hiding in, had the second floor windows blown out in unison. Red ducked his head from the initial explosion, because he was not expecting it. 

Keith looked around, seeing that everyone else had the same reaction, shock and awe, before running into a frenzy for cover and to make an advance towards the building he knew Blue was in.

“Blue’s found, I’m going to go solo.” Red quickly left the area, making his way around the area, looking for his target. His eyes locked onto a man he saw in the photo. For some reason, Keith was hesitant.

Thace looked up at the building Blue was set up, the look of concern on his face. His eyes fell onto a flashing light, sending him morse code.

Red made his way over, ready to strike, when he heard a sniper bullet whiz by. The target quickly ducked, pulling down another soldier in the process. Red let his jaw drop, Blue had missed. 

Red ducked back away from the target, looking up and seeing another floor, the fifth floor, explode. Red couldn’t help but wonder if that was for Blue to have an idea where the soldiers were located. 

Keith looked up, still seeing the sniper in the same spot. 

“Tell Blue to get the hell out of there. They are coming up fast.” Red turned his attention back towards his target. He was not going to let another one get away. He was not going to have a repeat like Paxis. 

He peeked his head around, seeing the target and the soldier move down to a bunker. His mind going crazy, not knowing why Blue would miss. 

Another floor blew up, the eighth. Red knew it was now or never. He left the above world behind him and traveled down the bunker. Away from Blue’s vision, away from Gold and Princess’s drones. He had hoped there were CCTV’s that Black and Green could hack, giving him clues on where to go. 

****

Black was pissed. Watching as Red followed, out of his sight.

“Green, check out for any camera’s in that bunker now.” Black barked the order, causing Green to hack harder than she had planned to. Her drone, Rover, was hovering by her side, making noises. 

“I’m on it! How’s Blue’s extraction? Has Orange found him yet?” Green turned her attention towards the CCTV they hacked. She was watching as Blue was running up the stairway, towards the roof. 

Black looked up at a bleeping light on the map, watching as a helicopter was nearing Blue’s location.

“Orange will be there for pick up. Change of plans once Blue is picked up. Red has gone solo. He’s on his own and will make it out. Don’t wait up for him.” Shiro was not thrilled Keith went on on his own, but it wouldn’t be his first time. Keith had a kill list long before he joined Voltron. He had been in worse situations. 

****

Orange lowered a rope down, leaving the Sniper to grab onto it and yell into the com.

“I’m on! Let’s get out of here before they get a BFG.” Blue looped his foot into the hold, feeling the pull and swing he was gaining from the momentum. He watched as people started to fire at him and the helicopter. By the grace of some god, no bullets made contact. 

Blue heard the rope being pulled up by electric pulley system. He gave a exhausted sigh, watching as the ground got farther and farther away from him. Once Lance could reach the helicopter door, he pulled himself in and looked over at Coran, who turned and smiled at him.

“Glad for you to join me my boy. I just wish the hot head was here too.” Orange moved the stick, flying away from the location of the target. Blue looked around, not sure what was going on.

“Where Red?” Blue rested his rifle down and grabbing a seat, placing the headphone over his head. “He went solo, didn’t he?”

Orange nodded, making his way over to a safe area. 

“He followed the target underground.” Coran watched as Lance looked so amused at that.

“We are so not having another rescue mission with Red again…” Blue leaned back in the seat, his worried eyes turned towards the old Nokia in hand. He quickly typed a message, while Coran as preoccupied with landing the machine.

****

Red leaned hard against the wall when he heard a familiar “ping” echo off the bunker hall way. Red glanced around the corner, seeing his Target looking at the object. Keith pulled out his knife, ready to strike the lone man. 

Red looked around, not seeing the other man that went down with him. He quickly surveyed the area. To many doors for more than one man to hide. Keith knew if he tried to attack now with blind spots, he might get shot. 

“I know you are there Red.” The Target called out, causing Keith to snap his head up. “Turn away now and I promise you, you will get out alive. If not, I can’t guarantee your survival.”

Red swallowed hard. He dare not move from his spot. His mind was going crazy. How did this man know he was there and his code name as well. 

Keith placed his blade back, clenching his fist. Another one was going to get away. Keith froze, when he heard the soldier that went with the Target call out. 

“The escape vehicle is ready Sir.” Thace walked away, his feet echoing down the hallway. “Is everything alright Sir?” 

“Everything is fine McClain. Let’s get going.” His voice echoed down the way, making sure Red heard it. 

Keith swallowed hard. The soldier that the target dragged with him, was the same one answering questions on the pedestal. Lance’s older brother. 

Red now knew why Blue missed. He was pissed. Here Lance was saying one thing, but doing another. He warned the target, probably warning his brother as well. Red left, his mind going crazy on him.

Was Lance a double agent screamed heavily the most.

Keith made his way out, not wanting to get caught by the enemy. He made his way around the area, not sure who he should go to with this information. 

****

Black let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he saw Red exit. He watched as Red jumped into a rig, started it up and left the area as if he had been stationed there for weeks. 

“Did you get the target?” Black closed his eyes, repeating what Red had told him. “Negative, got it.”

Green closed her laptop, grabbing her equipment ready to head out.

“Ready to burn this place to the ground Black?” Green looked over at Rover, who made a whistling noise. “Your right Rover, let’s lite this baby UP!”

Rover pulled out a match source. A small flame coming from its little hand. Black grabbed his own bag, making the exit first before Green and Rover set the campsite on fire.

The two watched from a safe distance as the tent flashed and turned to ash. The sound of a helicopter blades echoed in the valley. 

The machine hovered near the ground. At the door, Blue was waiting with hand stretched out. Green took it, being pulled rather quickly up, leaving a big grin on her face, Rover close behind her. Black tossed his bag in, running and jumping in. For a moment he lost his balance, only for Blue to steady him.

“You okay man?” Blue shined Black a smile he thought he’d never seen directed towards him again. Black nodded, happy to be back in Blue’s good graces.

“I’m fine, thank you.” Black turned his attention towards Orange, giving him a new order. “Red has escaped. The target got away. New point to meet up at is at the main road.”

Orange nodded lifting the copter off the ground, going to the destination that was Red. No one noticed how Blue relaxed at hearing those words. 

****

Keith waited at the side of the road. His mind was still buzzing. He knew he couldn’t tell Allura, it wouldn’t have given Lance the chance to explain himself. Shiro was out of the question, that would be a whole can of worms he didn’t want to open. Hunk was his only option, Keith at least hoped he was. 

He looked up, seeing the copter in the distance. Red closed his eyes, trying to calm his nerves. It was going to be a long flight back.

*****

Allura was really starting to hate her life. Ever since her father passed away, it seemed like Team Voltron was missing their targets more and more. If she wasn’t careful, things could get deadly again. 

She leaned back in her chair, letting her back pop in the process. A soft kiss planted the back of her head as she smiled. Shiro placed a coffee cup in front of her. 

“We made it out alive Allura. There will be another day when we can get our target.” Shiro walked back to the coffee machine to grab his own cup. He really missed his missing arm. 

Allura grabbed her coffee, sighing heavily.

“I know that Shiro. It’s just its frustrating. There’s more going on behind the scenes that I have no power over…”

Shiro leaned on the counter, drinking his coffee.

“Do share. I’ll be back in action sometime next month anyways…” The man watched as the woman started to muse about the situation. 

“Someone was in our system. They didn’t hack it, they had access codes.” Allura turned around in her chair, looking up at Shiro, who was listening with the utmost attention. “ Gold and I witnessed files being deleted in real time and a mission uploaded by a member I thought was lost.”

Shiro placed his coffee down, folding over his arm across his chest. He was thinking, letting Allura continue.

“The insignia was “V”, but it was Purple...I remember father talking about Purple once with Coran. I once asked Coran about it and he told me the less I knew, the better….” Allura crossed her arms, upset that he would withhold information from her.

Shiro shrugged, letting his hand drop.

“Maybe Coran is right. The less we know about Purple, the less we can tell Zarkon if someone gets caught.” He let his hand grip the counter. “ For all we know, he could be working on the inside and Coran is his only source.”

Allura nodded, agree with Shiro.

“I thought that as well. It’s just upsetting to know I don’t have all the cards in my favor.” Allura looked tired. “I wish father left me something on how to run things…”

Shiro looked down at the ground. His eyes tired as he made his way over to Allura and kneeling down to her eye level.

“I’m sure your father had the same problems as you have now. It takes time. And Allura…” Shiro watched as her eyes started to shine a bit. “You are not alone…”

Allura reached forward, hugging Shiro in a loving embrace. Shiro took his only arm, squeezing Allura close.

“Thank you Takashi…”

****

Hunk sat down with Keith, the look of disbelief on his face. 

“Hold it right there. You think Lance is a double agent.” Hunk didn’t like what Keith was telling him one bit. “And he’d have no problem shooting me if told to.” 

Keith knew it was risky talking to Hunk about it, after all Hunk was one of the closest people to Lance. 

“I know you don’t like what you are hearing Hunk, but the Target knew I was there. He called me by my code name, Red.” Keith finally let out what he had been holding. “There was also a man there with the Target with the last name of McClain.”

Hunk crossed his arm, trying to dispel the whole situation.

“Are you sure it’s not a coincidence?” Hunk really didn’t want to believe it.

“In my line of work, before I joined this team, there is no such thing as coincidence Hunk…” Keith let out a heavy sigh. “He missed when he fired at the Target. You know Lance, he never misses unless he has too.”

Both men turned their heads when they saw Lance and Coran walked in, holding a conversation of their own. 

“Hey Coran, we can talk more about it later.” Lance walked away from the old man, who nodded in agreement. “Yo guys, what’s up?”

Coran left the trio, pulling a cellphone out and making a call. Lance pulled a chair up, flipping it over so he could straddle it. 

“Jeez, looks like you guys were having a grim conversation.” Lance looked at Hunk and Keith, who looked at him like a stranger. “What’s going on?”

Hunk ran a hand through his hair, his brown eyes heavy. Never once had Hunk thought about doubting Lance, not on a mission anyways. But as a person.

“Keith was telling me about how you would take us out if a mission called for it.” Hunk watched as Lance’s joking face, faded away to a nasty glare at Keith. Keith didn’t alter his gaze. “ That’s not true, is it Lance?”

Keith kept his hands under the table, watching as Lance remained silent. He didn’t know if Lance would attack him or not, for telling Hunk the truth.

Hunk got up, pushing the chair back and slamming it into the table. The action caused Keith to jump, not expecting Hunk to act that way.

“I thought I was your friend Lance. After all the shit I went through to help you and this his how you repay me, with Silence.” Hunk watched as Lance didn’t move from his spot, just sat there being yelled at. “Nice to know who your real friends are.”

Hunk got up, leaving the area. Lance watched as Hunk left before getting up himself and pulling Keith up by his shirt.

“I hate you Keith.” Lance said it with so much venom, it made Keith’s heart seize. Keith grabbed Lance’s wrist and twisted it, making the Sniper drop to his knees.

“The feelings mutual.” Keith looked down at Lance, who was in pain. He let go, leaving the Sniper to lower his head. Keith walked back, giving Lance room. 

The Sniper got up, holding his hand. His eyes empty. Keith for a moment, wondered what Lance would do. The Sniper breathed, letting his anger subside.

“I’ll deal with you later.” Lance didn’t know himself if it was a threat or how he would talk to Keith. It all depends on how he’d work things out with Hunk. He left, walking out the door, leaving Keith behind.

Coran walked in, not sure what was going on at all.

“Oh my, where did Lance and Hunk go?” The redhead was in a cheery mood, only to let it falter when he saw how the youth looked. “What happened?”

Keith looked away, not sure what to say, save for one thing.

“I think you should talk to Hunk and Lance about that…” Keith sighed, scratching the back of his neck. Keith need to talk to Shiro, that was for damn sure.

****

Lance made a quick jog of it, making it after Hunk, who was surprisingly rather fast when angry. Hunk was getting lost in the open crowd, the busy market place and lunch hour rush. 

“Hunk! Wait up man!” Lance kept running, but Hunk kept moving. Lance reached his hand out, pulling Hunk’s shoulder towards him. “Hunk Listen!”

A fist came flying, slamming into Lance’s face. Lance hit the ground, the crowd around them, watched. Some moved away, giggling, other’s watched with interest, expecting a fight.

Lance looked up, hurt in more ways than one. 

“I don’t want to hear it Lance.” Hunk glared down, his fist still clenched. 

Lance kept looking up, shock on his face quickly faded away when he saw a flash high up in the sky scrapers. Fear crossed over his face as he pushed himself up and made his way towards Hunk.

He pushed him down, knocking the bigger man to the ground. Hunk glared up in anger, not sure where Lance was coming from. Then Hunk heard it, he saw it, he felt it.

Hunk lowered his gaze. His face covered in blood. Lance’s blood. Everything was in slow motion as he saw the man he once called friend, fall backward and lay motionless on the ground. 

Everything started to speed up again. Hunk saw people fall down around him, scatter, scream. He quickly crawled on the ground, pulling Lance by his pant leg, pulling him out of line of fire.

There was a sniper and that sniper was shooting at anyone that moved. Hunk held his hand down on Lance’s chest, stopping the flow of blood that came from it. His other hand quickly went to his phone as he called someone on it.

“Pidge, we have a live sniper at Apple Central. 28th floor, north side. Lance...Lance is down, there are others down too. Call all open hospitals and send a team in.” Hunk dropped the phone, using his hand to press on the exit wound on Lance’s back. 

He was still bleeding. If Lance was still bleeding, his heart was still beating. If his heart was still beating, Lance was still alive. If Lance was still alive, he could say sorry. He could. He could. He could.

“Stay with me Lance. Don’t…” Hunk heard the shooting stop. He glanced around the area, seeing medical teams coming in, making it to people who were shot. “Don’t die…”

Lance wasn’t moving. 

****

Hunk was covered in blood. Lance’s blood. Too much of Lance’s blood. Keith couldn’t stand it. He couldn’t stand how shell shocked the man was.

Allura came in, security footage in hand. Her eyes heavy. Shiro rested his hand on Hunk’s back, somewhat support him, somewhat to calm Shiro’s own nerves. Pidge walked up to her, grabbing it and started working on it from her laptop.

“When the SWAT team made it in...They found the people dead inside.” Allura walked around the room, her heels clicking. “He was a professional.” 

Keith dug his nails into his arms as the video footage started to play out. 

The man made his way to the room he had set up, there was an office meeting going on there. He walked in, opened fired with two guns, silencers on each one. The people inside, 24, all dead. They watched at the man stood on the table, pull something from the ceiling. It was a sniper rifle. It was in that moment, Pidge placed the video on pause.

The man’s face was caught. It made Keith’s heart stop. He knew that man. He had seen him before. When he was sitting on Lance’s couch. When Lance made a comment it was his older brother on TV with the Target. 

Lance’s brother had shot him.

Keith’s world shrunk around him. If he wasn’t grounded on the wall, he would have dropped to the floor. Hunk saw the change around Keith, setting his rage on him in that moment.

“Do you know who that man is Keith?” As far as Hunk was concerned, Lance wouldn’t be in his current condition if Keith hadn’t said anything. Hunk swallowed his anger, Keith was part to blame, Hunk was the other.

“Lance made a mention, when we saw the news report about Truro, the man taking the questions, was his older brother. He hadn’t seen him in 12 years…” Keith looked down, seeing the rage in Allura’s, Shiro’s and Pidge’s eyes. All but Hunk glared at him. “He was also there at the last mission…”

“You knew he had family in Zarkon’s army and you neglected to tell us!” Pidge shot out, anger in her voice. Hunk moved in between Keith and the mad tech woman. Never in her life has she wanted to throw a laptop at someone. 

“We knew nothing of Lance’s past other than that he was a Sniper in a team group. It’s well known that Zarkon’s army has defects all the time…” Hunk lowered his voice, looking at Pidge with soft eyes. “Look at your mother and father as examples Pidge. They used to work for Zarkon before they escaped…”

Pidge was shaking, tears in her eyes. Rover moved around her, trying to make her happy. The triangle droid pressed itself into her side, making the woman smile a bit. 

Hunk looked at Keith, regret in his eyes.

“But she is right. You should have told us. We could have Lance on another mission….” Hunk turned his eyes to a livid Princess. “What’s the plan?”

Allura brought her thumb up to her teeth and bit into it . Her sharp blue eyes alight with anger.

“We must find the man responsible. Pidge has the CCTV system setup to detect him when he appears in the city. At this moment...he is laying low and his last wearabout was Apple Central.” Allura rested her hands on her hips. “He is considered dangerous…so if you do find him, do not hesitate.”

Shiro looked at the small party, knowing he would be holding them back, besides he had better places to be.

“I’m going to go join Coran at the hospital. I’ll call when I get news on Lance’s condition…” Shiro looked at the rag tag team, having faith they’d find the man who was responsible for this. “You keep your eyes and ears open.”

Keith and Hunk nodded. Pidge clicked on a few links, following the security camera where the man could have escaped to. Allura was still extremely angry, but she  
it subside in that moment.

“Be safe Shiro. Call when you get there.” Allura turned to her tablet, when she heard a “ding”. Her attention now at the task on hand. 

******

Shiro sat in the waiting room with Coran. The old man looked ragged. He hadn’t shaved, his hair was a mess and his eyes sank deep into his skull. Shiro felt sorry for Coran. Lance had become somewhat of a son to him.

Lance as not in good shape at all. The bullet entered his solar plexus on his left side, traveling on a downward position. It traveled in between two rib bones, just missing his spinal cord by a few inches. The exit wound was large and nasty on his back, but prefered, as it would have torn into Lance’s insides if it wasn’t a through and through. Lance’s stomach was damaged, his left liver was nicked and spleen was shot, but he could live without that part of his body. It was the shock to his system and the lack of blood that was the issue. 

If Lance survived the 24 hour window, he had a higher chance of making it.

“Coran. The hospital has resting rooms. I think you should take a bed and rest, you’ve been here for hours…” Shiro rested his hand on Coran’s shoulder, watching as the man looked away from him.

“I appreciate your concern Shiro, but I want to be here...I need to be here…” The redhead leaned forward, letting his head hang low. “How about you?”

Shiro removed his hand from the older man’s arm, his gaze fell onto the yellow wall before him. 

“I’m doing fine. I just worry about Hunk, he was there when it happened….” Both Shiro and Coran stopped and looked when their cell phones went off. Both men read the text message, having fear in their eyes.

*He’s at the hospital*

“Shit…” Shiro got up, patting his back for his hand he had hidden. “How did he know Lance was here…” 

Whatever tiredness was in Coran, was now in full rage mode. He was aware and ready to kill.

“Good, saves me the time to go find him myself…” Coran had weapons on him, hidden all over. “I’ll take the left wing, you take the right. Meet back towards surgery room.”

Shiro nodded, like the plan the man was giving. They split off, eyes alert.

The one armed man, walked slowly, passing people who were less wounded from the sniper attack. The smell of blood was a constant thing in the air. Down the hall, he could see a blood drive going on. People donating for those who needed it, because the hospital only had so much type O blood to give. 

It was then he heard something. A voice call out from the back of the blood donation line.

“Please, I have the same blood type as my brother, he’s a victim here…” The voice was tired, desperate. He had that same tone at one point in time when Keith got stabbed years ago.

Shiro advanced further, his dark brown eyes falling onto the face he had seen in the video. Shiro reached behind him, placing his hand on his gun. He let his voice rang loud and demanding.

“Special Unit Task Force. Place your hands in the air and do NOT move.” Shiro said it so forceful, the people around him froze, following the point of the gun. People moved away from the man, who held his hands up. A police officer in the room, pulled out his gun too, pointing it at the man who was in line. 

“You can arrest me afterwards, but please, let me donate my blood to my brother.” The man fell to his knees, placing his hands behind his head. The officer looked over at Shiro, who nodded that he had his gun trained on him. The officer lowered his weapon, made his way over to the man. He pushed him down and handcuffed him. 

His let out a shaky breath as he put his gun away, watching as Lance’s brother started to cry desperately again.

“Please, let me help my brother.” He rested his head on the tile, breathing. “I didn’t mean to shoot him. I wasn’t aiming for him. Please..my blood is clean, it’s AB positive.”

A doctor came out to see what the commotion was about. Her sharp attitude got the police’s attention. Her jet black hair, sharp green eyes, and youthful appearance hid her true potential. 

“Place him in the psychiatric ward, we can take two pints off of him if he is so willing.” She watched as the man looked grateful. “Terry, grab two bags and go with the officer. Shiro, a moment.”

Shiro placed his gun back, watching as Lance’s brother was taken away. He turned his attention back to the woman.

“Shay...How is Lance…” Shiro had been waiting nearly 7 hours now, his hope growing weaker with every passing tick. “Will he live?”

Shay let her shoulder drag, her head hang low as he looked down the hallway where the prisoner was taken.

“He might pull through...it’s hard trying to find the matching blood type, so getting from his brother is the best option we have right now.” Shay closed her eyes, getting ready for another person to take care of. “Lance is out of surgery now. I did the best I could for him….It’s all up to Lance now....”

Shiro rested his hand on Shay’s shoulder, smiling. 

“You saved my life, I know you can save his too. Thank you Shay. I’m going to let the others know…” Shiro let go of her, as the surgeon turned away, calling for the staff to get the next victim.

Shiro pulled himself away, making his way towards the surgery room, in hopes of finding Coran, so he could at least tell him something. In hopes he could tell everyone something.

***** 

Keith crashed face first into his bed. He was sent home, forced really by Shiro, to rest and take it easy. Neither Keith was going to be able to accomplish. He felt like shit. In the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but feel this was his fault.

He let the Target escape. He let the older McClain go. If he hadn’t hesitated, if he hadn’t listened when the Target called him out, turned around and left. Thace Thatcher would be dead. Lance wouldn’t be in some hospital bed, having blood pumped into him, a machine breath for him.

If Keith had know joining Voltron would have been this deadly, this disorganised, he would have turned down Shiro’s offer. If he did, Shiro would probably still have his missing arm. Wouldn’t have that nasty scar on his face. He wouldn’t know Pidge and what food she liked. Wouldn’t know Hunk and wonder what type of omelets he could make. Wouldn’t know Allura and how she made Shiro smile. Wouldn’t know Lance who would drive him crazy in more ways than one.

Lance would never be in his life if he had just turned his brother down. 

Keith grabbed onto his pillow, screaming into it. He was so mad, so frustrated, so lost.

He felt like he was 9 again. On a train with dead bodies, a train caught in an explosion set by Zarkon’s men. With no memory of who he was after, save for his name on dog tags. “Keith”. He remembered Shiro, 12 years old and already a freedom fighter. Reaching his hand down and pulling him from a hell he thought he’d never experience again. 

Keith didn’t know how wrong he could be.

He didn’t know the hell of someone’s lasts words to him could eat at him so badly.

“I hate you Keith...I’ll deal with you later…”

He prayed there would be a later. Even if Lance woke up, still hating him, Keith wanted a later.

****

Pidge held Rover close to her chest, as she sat next to Lance’s bed. His heart monitor, beeping. The green glow it gave, was something she was starting to hate. The sound was so repetitive, she knew it kept him monitored, like the air being pumped to his lungs. 

She let out a tired sigh, her eyes falling onto the clock on the wall. It had been 56 hours, Lance was out of the danger zone, but he hadn’t woken up yet. He was starting to scare her. She was afraid he’d never wake up. 

A soft hand placed on Pidge’s shoulder, making her jump. She glanced up, smiling at a face she hadn’t seen in awhile.

“Hey Matt...I didn’t know you were coming today…” Pidge felt Matt lean over her shoulder, crossing his arms and placing her in a warm hug.

“Yeah, I brought some paperwork for Shiro’s arm. With all the crazy that’s been going on, I don’t even think he know’s he’s getting one yet.” Matt let his hazel eyes look over Lance’s prone body. He didn’t like how his skin was ghost white almost. “Are you doing okay Katie?”

Pidge took in a deep breath, trying not to lose it.

“No, I’m not. I’m upset.” She reached her hand out, placing her warm one on Lance’s cold one. “ His own brother put him here and I…”

Matt held tight to his sister. 

“He’ll be okay. Just you wait, any day now, Lance will wake up. You’ll be sending me emails of the stupid stuff he’s done.” Matt let out a soft laughed, making Katie lower her head.

“I hate not being able to help more…” Pidge felt her cheek being pulled, she glared up at Matt.

“Hey now, you do a lot for everyone, you just don’t notice is all.” Matt let go, leaving one last glance over at Lance. “I’ll watch him. You go take a small break. Give mom a call, she’s worried too you know….”

Pidge nodded, letting Matt let her go. She got up, Rover following close behind her. Matt took her seat, keeping a silent vigil over Lance’s prone body.

****

When Lance opened his eyes, it was slow. They were heavy, dry. Everything around him was too bright. He turned his head slowly, a smile sneaking on his dry lips as he saw Hunk beside him, reading the newspaper.

The mask over his face, blocked Lance’s weak attempt to communicate. He swallowed hard, moving his tired hand towards Hunk’s sleeve. With weak fingers, he pinched hard, pulling down the cloth. Watching Hunk eyes widen, the look of joy on his face, was all Lance needed to know that things were good between them again.

Hunk stood up, petting Lance’s face, brushing the hair out of Lance’s eyes. Tears started to fall from Hunk’s eyes. He leaned his forehead onto Lance’s shoulder. Lance took in a deep breath, listening to Hunk whisper.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry….” Hunk felt Lance heave a big breath. He could hear how strong his heart was. 

“It’s ok…” Lance swallowed hard. He was thirsty. He slightly recalled Shiro drinking water like a fish after his drugs started to wear off. “Mmany days?” 

Hunk pulled away, using his sleeve to wipe away the tears. Hunk’s face was flushed.

“Nine days...Everyone has been worried about you. I can’t wait to let them know.” Hunk went to pull out his cell, but was stopped.

“No….Not yet…” Lance was having a hard time, gaining everything in his head. “You and me...first…”

Hunk pulled the chair closer, grabbing onto Lance’s hand. 

“I understand…” Hunk still had tears in his eyes.

Lance was happy Hunk was there. He was happy to have his friend by his side.

“You, hurt?” Lance fought the yawn growing. “Sniper, who?”

Hunk felt like he was punched in the gut with those. Here Lance was, worrying about him.

“I’m not hurt. We caught the Sniper. I’ll tell you who it is later when you get better.” Hunk watched as Lance started to blink. It made Hunk worried. “I’m going to go get Shay, so she can look you over…”

Lance moved his hand away from Hunk’s, giving the man a thumbs up. Hunk patted his shoulder and left the room, leaving Lance alone.

Lance turned his head away from the door and looked out the window. The window was closed, but he was happy to see the blue sky on the other side of the pane. 

****

Matt sat down with Shiro and Keith, as they ate their lunch in the headquarters mess hall. He looked over at Shiro, who was wearing a tank top. His damaged limb had a plastic casing around it. 

“I see they are molding your arm already for the fitting.” Matt mused, watching as Shiro shoved a fork into his salad. 

“It’s the same pink goo those dentist place in your mouth for teeth molds. It’s disgusting.” Shiro was in no mood. Being poked, prodded, and on display for the scientist working on giving him a new arm. “I can only imagine what they will do to my brain…”

Keith flicked Shiro’s nose, causing the older man to frown and narrow his eyes. 

“Relax Shiro. Besides, they won’t find much in there…” Keith let out an oomph as Shiro elbowed him hard in the gut. Keith gave a pout when Matt started to laugh.

All three men jumped when the door slammed open with a happy Coran. Keith and Shiro leaned back, their minds linking together, hoping for good news.

“Lance is awake! He’s allowed visitors, but only two at a time….” Coran was just so happy to share the news. “I’m going to be going, I was wondering if any of you boys would like to come with me.”

Shiro raised his hand up and pointed to his arm.

“I can’t leave yet. Not until I get this thing off, which won’t be for another hour.” Shiro shoved Keith’s shoulder. “Keith and Matt can go.”

Keith got up, looking over at Matt who was still sitting down.

“You two go, I’m stuck here as well. I’ll join you when Shiro’s done. I’ll get Pidge when she’s done setting up his arm…” Matt smiled, glad to hear Lance was awake. He just wondered how much. 

Keith nodded, looking at Coran with joy on his face. Shiro blinked at the change of expression on Keith’s face. 

“I’ll see you in the garage!” Keith quickly made his exit, leaving Shiro alone with the two redheads. 

Matt crossed his arms, seeing the confused look on Shiro’s face.

“You gonna share or do I have to play the guessing game with you?” Matt had an idea something was up, what, he could not place. “Keith and Lance are friends now?”

Shiro was just as confused as Matt. He had seen the two class outside of the mission, always barking at one another, pushing each other, butting heads.

“I honestly don’t know with those two. On a mission, they are good, but outside of it. Keith has let it known that Lance drives him up the wall.” Shiro glanced up at Coran, hoping the man had more infomation. “What do you think?”

Coran shrugged, making his way towards the door.

“If you want my honest opinion, I don’t think you’d like it.” Coran smiled, leaving the two men to question his words. Coran had an idea. He’s seen that look on Keith’s face before with others. 

That look Shiro gives Allura. That look that Hunk gives Shay. The look Lance once gave Mermaid. Coran knew what it was, he just didn’t know if Keith was aware of it. With a heavy sigh, Coran left, making his way towards the garage, where he knew Keith was probably growing impatient.

****

When Keith entered Lance’s hospital room, Lance was looking out the window. The wind was cool, moving the curtains in a flowing motion. His skin, still a sickly color, looked relaxed. He wasn’t aware Keith was there yet. 

Keith knocked, causing Lance to turn his head with a soft smile on his face, only for it to fade away into something dark, something cold. Lance’s eyes were dark, much darker than Keith remembered. 

“What are you doing here…” Lance said it so cruel, so cold, it seemed to knock Keith back. “Get out of here…Kogane…”

Keith should have known better. Their last conversation was full of bitterness. Keith lowered his head, turned and left.

Lance looked away from the door, his head spinning. Keith was the last person he wanted to see. He had hoped for anyone but him. 

“Are you alright my boy?” Coran asked, watching the man in the bed look faint. Lance opened his eyes, a smile returned on his face, it reached his eyes.

“Hey Coran. It’s good to see you again.” The redhead looked back behind him. Keith wasn’t in for very long, Lance saw the look on the old man’s face but ignored it. “What’s the news? Hunk won’t tell me anything?”

Coran gave a huff, making his way over to Lance. The younger man felt his head being softly pulled to Coran’s chest. He was being hugged. The first time ever by the redhead. 

“I’m glad you are still here Lance….” Coran watched as Lance’s head fell onto his chest, embracing the moment. “So Hunk hasn’t told you anything? Huh...you want me to be honest?”

Coran pulled away, grabbing a chair and sat down. Lance didn’t move much, just placed his hands in his lap, looking the most alive he’d seen him in days.

“I do...Who was the Sniper…” Lance honestly had no idea, Coran could see it on his face.

“The Sniper was the same one at Truro City. A man by the name of Brad McClain…” Coran watched as Lance’s eyes widened. Fear swam in them, so did shock. “Keith told us he was your older brother.”

Lance was lost. He knew Brad wasn’t the other Sniper. He couldn’t understand why he was even here in the first place, let alone why he would shoot him. Did Brad know it was him that he shot.

“Where is Brad now?” Lance moved his hand to his chest, it was more mental pain then the physical pain. “Hunk said he’s alive right?”

Coran hated that man, hated Lance’s brother. He hated how fear swam over Lance’s expression of a man who could have killed him or Hunk. For a man who murdered and wounded so many others. Coran calmed himself. It was Lance’s brother after all.

“He’s in solitary confinement. He already had a trial and his verdict is to be placed to death by firing squad at the end of the month.” Coran watched as Lance took the news. He watched as Lance’s lips started to quiver.

“Thank you for telling me Coran…” Lance closed his eyes, taking a breath. “I accept it…”

Coran lowered his head, wondering if telling Lance about it was a good idea or not. To his surprise, a hand rested on top of his head. He looked up to see a smiling Lance.

“Don’t worry about it too much Coran. We may be blood related, but he’s not family….but you are...and I’m glad you are here…” Lance took joy, in knowing he took some kind of weight off of Coran. Once that was over with, he saw Coran change. “What?”

“If you see me as family. Can I ask you something personal Lance?” Coran studied Lance, seeing the boy rest his hands on his lap again.

“If it involves Keith, I’m not interested.” Lance said it with a snap, but Coran wasn’t threatened by it. Coran smiled leaning back, enjoying the glare Lance was trying to give him.

“Do you want me to tell you what happened to those nine days you were out?” Coran would address the Keith situation later, for now, he wanted to talk about something else.  
“While you were having surgery, your brother came looking for you. He wanted to donate his blood, to save you.”

Coran recalled Shiro telling him about how the man came begging. Lance let his shoulder sag, his eyes wavered. Coran continued.

“They took two pints from him. He almost went into shock. After his short stay, he was sent off to prison. His only phone call he made, was here, three days later, to check up on you.” Coran watched as Lance turned away, his eyes once again, looking out at the window. His hands, gripping the sheets. “Once you were allowed friends, we all took turns, staying with you.”

Lance wanted to leave, but his legs were too weak. His wound would reopen. He wanted to cover his ears. He didn’t want to hear anymore, but Coran wouldn’t shut up.

“Hunk and Keith told me what happened. How Keith thought you were a double agent and how you wouldn’t hesitate on taking out a target, even if it was one of us.” Coran leaned forward, drawing Lance’s attention. “But you did with the last mission. You could have killed the Target and the soldier by his side, but you couldn’t because that soldier was your brother….and you knew who Thace really was….”

Lance eyes widened. Before Lance was shot, he was talking to Coran about the Purple Agent. The two were going to share information, like last time when King was still alive and Purple was more active. Lance let out a heavy breath.

“I didn’t know who to go to with that info, other than you. I didn’t want anyone else involved and I didn’t get the chance to tell you when everything went down.” Lance looked down at his hands. “My brother wasn’t the Sniper at Truro. It was me and Purple.”

Coran nodded, shrugging.

“I figured as much. Purple wanted to probably get the heat off of him and you, so he set a hit on himself, counting you’d figure it out before you took the fatal shot. He probably sent your brother as a scapegoat…” Coran was lost there. “And that’s where I am lost…”

Lance leaned back in his bed, letting the information seep in.

“Well, I don’t think he was aiming for me...I kinda pushed Hunk down, taking the hit…” Lance was just wonder if Hunk was going to get clipped, either way, Lance frowned at the thought of Hunk getting shot. “More so when he wanted to donate blood to save me…”

Knowing the full story with Brad, didn’t set well with him now. His mind was already thinking up a plan on getting him out before he took the fatal bullet. Coran crossed his arms, not liking the thought process he could see.

“He’s still a killer Lance….” Coran closed his mouth as Lance spoke.

“And so am I.” Lance looked up at the ceiling. “Besides, I can’t do anything anyways. My body is too damaged…” 

Coran stood up, he needed to move, his legs were getting stiff. He walked towards the window, looking down at the hospital garden. He raised an eyebrow, seeing Keith alone, looking like the world was ending.

“You know, I watched over you during the day. As did Shiro. Pidge took over a few night shifts, Matt even watched over you for a little while. But Hunk and Keith, you have some good friends there.” Coran saw Lance’s reflection in the window pane, seeing how Lance really didn’t want to talk about Keith at all. “ It was Hunk and Keith who made sure you were clean. Changed your bed pan…”

“Coran, that is just TMI man…” Lance closed his eyes. “They could have made the Nurses do it. It’s their job after all.”

“I know what happened to you may seem like it was yesterday, but Hunk and Keith had to dwell on it for nine days. Not knowing if you would be alive at the end of it.” Coran looked back down at the garden. “I hadn’t seen Keith looked that happy until I told him you were awake…”

“Well I hate him…” Lance was started to get irritated. “I’ll work with him, keep him alive, but that’s about it…”

Coran let his eyes grow soft. He let his head rest on the glass.

“Lance...there will be things you will regret in this life. Don’t let your words be one of them.” Coran walked away from the window, resting his hands on the bed railings around Lance and looked the boy in the face. “For the record, Keith doesn’t hate you Lance. It’s the opposite really...Hunk and I are the only ones that see it.”

Coran pulled away, letting Lance have his time alone to think.

“For a Sniper, you are rather blind.” Coran left the last word and shut the door behind him.

*****

Keith didn’t sleep that night, nor the days that followed. 

****

Shiro sat on the table, looking at Keith like he was some stranger. The Assassin sat alone in the break room. His new robotic arm really made Shiro happy he could cross his arms and “look” whole again. 

“You do know we have a welcome back party for Lance, right?” For the last week, Shiro only saw glimpses of Keith. He had hid in the shadows, becoming the wallflower in the room. “I’m sure he’d like to see you…”

Keith pulled his seat away from the table he was at, not looking at Shiro.

“I’ll see him when I see him…” Keith moved to the mini fridge, grabbing a water bottle out of it. His back was turned, not seeing Shiro shake his head and leave. Keith closed the mini fridge. He waited till he heard the door click, before squeezing the bottle and throwing it in anger at the door. 

His face in shock when the water bottle hit the wall, missing the other occupant in the room.

Lance didn’t flinch when he saw the bottle coming. He didn’t alter his course. He just let the bottle hit the wall, splattering on contact. He just looked at Keith, with eyes Keith didn’t want to gaze into. Not empty ones.

Keith turned away, looking for some paper towels. He also did it, so he could avoid Lance. He didn’t expect Lance to open his mouth.

“You’d suck as a Sniper…” Lance said it with a taunting tone, it made Keith bite back a retort. Lance narrowed his eyes, seeing how Keith was ignoring him.

The Sniper walked up behind Keith, prompting some reaction out of Keith to turn around and look at him.

“What do you want Lance?” Keith was stuck, not sure what he was going to do or not. All he got was silence, so Keith sidestepped Lance, avoiding him in fear he might irritate his wound. “If you got nothing to say, I’m leaving…”

Keith clenched his fist, looking down at his feet while he made his way to the exit. His hand on the door.

“Can we start over…” Lance looked at the wall, his back straight, his head held up high. He couldn’t look at Keith. He was afraid of what he might see.

Keith let his hand fall away from the door, his violet eyes flicked in confusion. Couldn’t tell where Lance was coming from or why.

“Start over from where?” Keith turned around, leaning his back against the door. He watched as Lance looked over his shoulder, his mind searching for the right words, a moment in time. 

The Sniper walked the room, his long legs clearing the distance between him and The Assassin. 

Blue stopped, just arms length away from Red. He extended his shaky hand, some darker shade then it was a week ago.

“My name is Lance McClain.” Lance gave a smile, so soft, so caring, it made Keith’s heart skip. 

He reached his hand out, grabbing it and shaking it, giving a small smile himself.

“I’m Keith Kogane…” Keith pressed his lips together as Lance started laughing, not sure what Lance found so funny.

“What a stupid name, Keith…” Lance leaned forward, placing a kiss on Keith’s lips. He smiled in that kiss, as Keith’s shocked lips, fell into needy ones. 

Keith’s heart was pounding, his mind was confused and for the first time in forever, he didn’t care that he was scared. He opened his mouth so he could taste Lance, so Lance could taste him. 

Lance pulled Keith closer, grabbing his hair and softly pulling. Keith wrapped his arms around Lance’s neck, getting lost in the kiss that made his world spin. 

Lance pulled away, when he felt Keith grow weak under him, he was panting from lack of breathing. He rested his head on Keith’s brow, looking into Keith’s eyes. They looked like galaxies to him. 

“I’m sorry for being such an asshole….” Lance gave a sheepish smile, his face flushed. Keith removed his arms away from Lance’s neck, moving his hands to his face. He gazed into his eyes, his deep ocean blues.

“Well, you're my asshole, so I guess I can forgive you…” Keith bit his lip, calming his own breathing. He had to break the gaze, otherwise he’d lose it. “So what are we now?”

Lance pulled away, sighing heavily before grabbing Keith’s hand.

“I guess...Boyfriends now?...I honestly haven’t thought beyond this…” Lance saw Keith smile, much to his amusement. 

“How about we start with getting you back to your party...I’m sure people are starting to worry about you…” Keith opened the door, leading out to the hallway. “We can figure it out later as we go…”

Lance let Keith pull him along, hand in hand down the hallway. Lance couldn’t help but look away from Keith, 

“Do you still wanna keep this a secret?” The playfulness in his voice, wasn’t hard to miss. Keith raised both their hands up and kissed Lance’s palm.

“Damn right I do. The less they know, the better right?” Keith let out a blush. “Besides, I think it would be fun trying not to get caught when we have sex…”

Lance rolled his eyes at that, giving a frown.

“Yeah, about that...I can’t have sex for about 1 or 2 months…” Lance let go of Keith’s hand, counting off the other stuff he couldn’t do. “I can’t lift heavy objects, run, do any activities to open my wounds…”

As they got closer to the party, Keith giggled. 

“Well you can’t do anything physical, but you can still watch, right?” Keith closed his eyes, hiding his grin with his hands. “You still have those toys in your apartment right?” 

Lance was mentaling screaming “down boner.”

“Damn Keith, I didn’t know you were this kinky..” Lance said it in a whisper, as they entered the room. Lance raised his hand up, getting everyone’s attention.

“Look who stopped being a party pooper and decided to join.” Lance smiled as he saw faces light up, leaving Keith to sigh heavily, walking away as if their conversation never happened.

“Whatever you ass.” Keith put his hands in his pockets, making his way over to the refreshments, where Hunk was chilling. The bigger man raised an eyebrow.

“So….you guys good?” Hunk drank his punch, not sure what Keith would say.

“Define good?” Keith wasn’t going to give anything away. Hunk blew bubbles into his cup, knowing full well something was up. 

“Good as in, Good, or Good Good?” The two had their conversation low, as Lance went to hang out with Pidge and Matt. Keith played with his cup, waiting for Hunk to take a drink.

“I guess Good, Good...Considering in two month’s, I’m going to be riding his dick…” Keith let out a smile as Hunk started coughing, choking on the liquid substance. “Probably that too…” 

Keith was taking enjoyment of making Hunk flustered. Keith took a sip, still smiling.

“But keep that a secret…between friends?” Keith smiled as he watched Hunk roll his eyes. 

“Like who am I going to tell...Well fuck it, as long as you two are happy, I’m okay with it.” Hunk gave a sly smile back. “I’m going to feel sorry for Lance tho when Shiro finds out…”

Keith blinked, not sure what Hunk was going on about. 

“What, what did Shiro say?” Keith glared as Shiro, who was chatting it up with Lance.

“Have you not heard of a big brother complex? Because Shiro has it, like Matt has it with Pidge.” Hunk turned back to the punch bowl, pulling out a flask and pouring whisky in it. Keith gave a sly smile at that, still not getting what Hunk was going on about.

“Speaking about older brothers...Lance’s brother...his execution is due next week right?” Keith watched as Hunk was slow to answer.

“Yeah...why?” Hunk watched Keith smile as his eyes fell onto a laughing Lance.

“Want to help me out with something?” He drank his punch, his eyes focused on a task at hand. “It would make Lance happy…”

Hunk looked around the room, making sure Allura was away, because that damn woman had ears.

“I’m game with whatever you are thinking…” Hunk finished the drink in one gulp. Both men smiling with a plan being set in motion.

****

Hunk drove the car, while Keith was in the passenger seat. In the back seat, was a person with a black cloth over his head and his hands tied together. Hunk glanced back, hitting a pothole, leaving the passenger in the back seat to fly up and hit the car ceiling and letting a “oomph” out.

Hunk gave a snarky smile, leaving Keith to glare at him.

“Whoops, potholes happen.” Keith whacked Hunk in the back of the head.

“You did it on purpose. Knock it off…” Keith looked back into the back seat, making sure the passenger was still moving. “You damn lucky, I can say that.”

The masked man let out a heavy sigh. 

“Who the hell are you guys?” He tried to get out of the ropes Keith tied around him, but they wouldn’t budge. “Who sent you?”

Hunk slammed the breaks on, causing the passenger to fly forward into the seats. Hunk let a chuckle out, getting another slap from Keith.

“We are here...so is he…” Hunk let out a huff, getting out of the car and dragging their victims out of the car feet first. The man’s head hit the ground with a thud, being dragged along. 

The big man pulled him up, sitting him up on his knees.

“He who? Come on, if you guys are going to kill me, just get it over with already.” The man lowered his head feeling someone pull off the clothed material.

Lance walked back, in shock seeing Brad in front of him. Brad looked up at Lance, he was just as speechless as his brother. Brad relaxed, smiling to see Lance was standing, was alive.

“Hey…” Brad smiled, watching as Lance walked over, pulling a knife out of his pocket. For a moment, Brad thought he was going to get stabbed. He wouldn’t blame Lance if he did, after all he did shoot him.

Lance cut the rope that held him, leaving Brad to rub his wrists and stand. Both brother’s didn’t know what to do, but stand there for awhile. Lance handed over keys to a motorcycle to Brad, causing his older brother to grab them.

“Get out of here...This country isn’t allied with Zarkon and isn’t obligated to turn you over to this country either.” Lance watched has his brother moved in, hugging him. Lance closed his eyes, not knowing when he would see him again. “I missed you Brad…”

Brad pulled away, looking at Lance’s face one last time, holding it and smooshing it together.

“I’m sorry I shot you…” Brad looked at the man, up and down, remembering him. “Last I saw you, you were 10 years old….let's not let another 12 years go by…”

Lance nodded, fighting back tears. Resting his head down on his brothers chest. There was so much he wanted to ask him, but he knew their time was short. Lance pulled away.

“You need to go Brad. Drop me a line and I’ll wire you some money.” Lance pushed Brad, taking him to the motorcycle Purple had given him. “We can catch up later…You stay out of trouble...”

Brad jumped on the bike, grabbing a helmet and placing it on his head. Lance opened up the glove box and grabbed a bag, slinging it over his shoulder.

“See you soon!” Brad started it up. “Keep an eye out for Purple.” Brad flashed a smile, before leaving Lance behind. 

Lance fell to his knees. He looked behind him, seeing Hunk and Keith walk out of the darkness.

“How did you guys…Why?” Lance lost it, he started crying. The tears wouldn’t stop. Lance didn’t see his brother when he was released from the hospital because he was afraid he’d doing something stupid and rash, like break him out himself. 

Keith and Hunk already beat him to it. 

Hunk crossed his arms, leaning on his car.

“Why not? Besides, it was Keith’s idea. I would have left him to get shot after he tried to kill you…” Hunk looked at Keith who rolled his eyes. “Let’s get out of here before we get caught.”

Keith walked over to Lance, picking him up off the ground and up to his feet.

“Are you okay?” Keith rested a hand on Lance’s back, careful not to hit his sore spot.

Lance nodded, making his way to the back of the car, crawling in. 

“You guys are the best, you know that…” Lance sat in the middle, still lost and confused by the whole thing. “What if you get caught?”

Hunk got in, starting the car up, Keith jumped into the front passenger side. Hunk gave Lance a thumbs up.

“Have faith in us man. We got this. Camera’s on loop, the guards are out cold, alibi is set.” Hunk put the car in drive, turning it around and back on the road. “Yeah, it will be big news in a few days, but that’s normal.”

Lance leaned back into the backseat, his eyes heavy. 

“God, its going to be a long drive home…” Lance looked out the window, seeing nothing but the black night. “Wouldn’t mind some company back here..make me feel better...”

Keith turned his head around, flashing Hunk a smile, who by this point, didn’t want to be in the car anymore. Hunk let out a groan as Keith, moved out of his seat and started to crawl into the back with Lance.

Giggling could be heard from Lance in the backseat, he liked how this was going, when Keith crawled on top of him. What tears he did have, was quickly being pushed away with excitement. 

“Do not make me break check this car you guys.” Hunk kept his eyes on the road, his hands gripping the steering wheel. “Can you NOT.”

The sound of a zipper being zipped down made Hunk lower his head, his eyes looking for that damned pothole from earlier. Hunk was just happy it was dark so he didn’t have to see anything, just hearing giggling at the moment.

“Do you have no shame?” Hunk smiled when he saw what he was looking for. He gunned it, hitting the pothole with a mighty “thump.” Both Lance and Keith went flying up, Keith being a cushion for Lance so his chest wouldn’t be too whiplashed. They fell down, with Lance busting into a fit of laughter. “Whoops.” 

Keith shot up, looking worried at Lance and feeling for anything that might be blood, before turning towards the driver. 

“Lance is wounded back here and you pull that stunt!” Keith was quickly pulled down by Lance, who was just fine. “It’s a blow job Hunk, get over yourself.” 

“It’s my car!” Hunk cried, keeping his view down the road. He really didn’t expect this to go down. Lance let out a heated breath, directing it towards Hunk.

“Turn the radio on, you won’t hear a….Oh Fuck Keith….” At the sound of that and some slurping, Hunk slammed the radio button on and raised the volume the highest it could go. 

Lance was right, it was going to be one long ass trip home, much to Hunk’s dismay and embarrassment. 

****

Keith pulled the tape off from Lance’s back, removing the bandage that kept his wound covered. He was slow and careful, so not to knock off anything important. A slight frown appeared on Keith’s face. 

“You are bleeding…” The scar tissue was raw to Keith, scary almost because he wasn’t used to seeing that. “Please don’t ever get shot again.”

Lance leaned winched as Keith put on clean dressing. He gave a heaving breath, already spent from the nights earlier events. If it wasn’t for the stool he was sitting on, he’d probably be on the ground. 

“I don’t plan to…” Lance reached over to his bag on the counter. He zipped it open and pulled out six different pill bottles. “Because I am so done with this.”

Keith applied the tape around the bandage, sealing it in a clean and organised fashion. His eyes still focusing on Lance’s back.

“I need to get your front.” Keith smiled as Lance spun around in the chair, so he could repeat the process. “I’m so glad he missed your nipple…”

Keith pulled the tape away, with Lance watching, smiling.

“Honestly, nice to know your priorities. He could have hit my heart.” Lance watched as Keith pulled away the bandage. It was surreal for Lance to look at it. “It looks like it’s healing rather well here…”

Keith grabbed another bandage from the medikit, once again taping it back in place. When he was done, he left his hands on Lance’s chest. He let out a sigh, before leaning forward and resting his head onto Lance’s collar bone. He took a deep breath, breathing Lance’s smell in. It was severely lacking gun oil.

“I’m okay Keith…” Lance placed his hands on Keith’s head, pulling him away from his chest and forcing Keith to look at him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m not the one who got shot. So I’m fine…” Keith winched as Lance pulled his ears, leaving Keith to playfully slap his hands away. “Why did you do that?”

“Because you are shaking....” Lance watched as Keith became aware of it. The Assassin looked at his hands, only for the Sniper to grab them. “Are you okay?”

“You died Lance…” Keith watched as Lance didn’t change. He figured Coran and Hunk already told him. “You died and the last thing I said to you was…”

“”The feelings mutual”...I remember Keith…” Lance moved off the stool, letting his feet touch the cool ground. “Is that why you broke my brother out of prison? Because you still felt guilty about “that”?”

Keith’s silence was all Lance needed to know that he was right on the mark.

Lance let out a small, childish laugh, leaning in and kissing Keith on the man’s lips. Lance pulled away, leaving Keith to lean on Lance’s chest again.

“I’m alive Keith. I’m here in your home. I’m not going anywhere…” Lance held Keith close, letting his body warmth seep into his skin. He fell into the crook of Keith’s neck, letting Keith’s hair tickle his nose. “Do you want to cuddle?”

Lance wanted to say “I love you”, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it, because he wouldn’t have meant it, not yet anyway. He liked Keith, he made him happy. If he said those words, they had to mean something to him.

Keith nodded, pulling away from Lance and grabbing the man’s shirt, handing it over to him. Lance took it, pulling it on, before turning his attention back to his pills. Keith walked to the cupboard, opening the door and grabbing a cup. He filled it up with water from the tap and handed it to Lance.

“I’ll see you on the couch. I’ll find something to watch…” Keith walked away, hiding his disappointment, he almost half expect Lance to say something else. 

Keith jumped over his couch, landing hard on the surface and bounced a bit. He cracked a laugh when he heard Lance make a comment.

“Who the fuck raised you to be an animal?” He swallowed the pills, amazed at how Keith hadn’t broken anything yet. 

“It’s my couch, my place, my rules.” Keith stretched out, relaxing and making enough room for Lance to join him. “And if you must know, it was Shiro. You can blame him.”

Lance walked over, like a normal person should when sitting on the couch, well crawl. Lance moved in close, letting his arms tangle up into Keith’s body, leaving Keith to hold Lance’s head close to his chest.

“Don’t you want to watch a movie?” Keith smiled as Lance pressed his face harder into his chest. He let out a tired sigh. “It would be better if we went to the bedroom if you just wanted to sleep…”

Keith could feel the smile on Lance’s face, it was a playful grin.

“If I did that, I would want more than sleep.” His voice vibrated Keith’s chest, biting softly through Keith’s shirt. Keith let out a laugh that ringed in Lance’s ears.

“Okay, Okay, I get it...the couch is fine...But don’t say I didn’t warn you…” Keith adjusted himself so Lance could have more freedom to move. “Lance?”

Keith glanced down, listening to Lance’s steady breathing. His face was soft and resting, eyes closed, lost to his exhaustion. Keith couldn’t blame him on that, Lance had an eventful night and early morning after all.

Keith let his hand rest on top of Lance’s soft hair, petting him and humming. 

“Sleep well…” Keith moved his gaze away from Lance’s face, figuring he would join him in slumber eventually, but for now, the movie was catching his interest. If he hadn’t, Keith would be going crazy. 

It wasn’t long before he rested his own eyes, his breathing matched that of the man in his arms and he was lost to a happiness Keith hoped he could hold onto forever. Before he fell into his own slumber, Keith whispered into Lance’s ear, for only for him to hear and hear alone.

And for once, in a long time, Keith slept without sadness in his heart, for he wasn’t alone and neither was Lance.

 

end


End file.
